Courtship Dance
by Lil DragonLex
Summary: Mating is a bond that last for a life time until one of the two is dead. Demons undergo a process called courting to ensure that the one they mate is the one for them. Enter Hiei and Botan. And the ones that are in love with them.
1. zero

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this fic. I only use (or is it borrow?) the characters. And this disclaimer goes for all the chapters and other stories that I will write or have written.

Summary – Mating is a bond form between two demons or demon and human. It cannot be broken unless one of them is dead. It is a life time bond. But before demons take a mate, some go through a process called courting. Courting allows the two to get to know each other and perhaps fall in love. Enter Hiei and Botan. Can the two of them fall in love through the process of courting? And what about the people who are in love with them?

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"I want a reunion party," Keiko announced.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked up from their card game to Keiko as she walked into Genkai's temple.

"Another one?" Yusuke said. "Didn't we just have one last month?"

"Yusuke that was last year!" Keiko yelled at her fiancé.

"Wow. Time really does fly by," then he went back to his card game.

"Yusuke!" Keiko yelled.

"What do you want me to do?" Yusuke yelled back.

"Well for starters, you could help me make plans for the party. There has to be a time and place set. Who's going to be in charge of food, decorations, invitations, should we give each other presents?" Keiko counted off of her fingers.

"Easy," Yusuke told her. "We'll have the party here as we always do, you and Yukina will be in charge of food as always, Shizuru and Kuwabara with decorations, as always, and Kurama and I with invitations. As always."

"You have to admit Keiko, we always have the same jobs when planning for reunions," Kurama said, putting down his book.

"That is true," Keiko said thoughtfully.

"Don't worry Keiko. I'm sure that this year's party will be fun," Yukina smiled sweetly.

"Why do we even have reunion parties when we all see each other often enough?" Yusuke asked.

"Because, we don't spend time with each other as a whole group like we use to. Botan and Koenma doesn't visit as often as they use to, whenever we're all together in Genkai's temple, it's by coincidence or to visit Yukina and Genkai, and we don't even see Hiei anymore," Keiko explained.

"Then let's have a party then," Kuwabara said. He was getting excited. "You'll make your specialty again this year, ne?" he looked to Yukina with great affection and love in his eyes. Though he did look like an obsess freak when he did.

"Of course Kazuma. I'm glad that you like it," Yukina said with a smile. Still seemingly unaware of Kuwabara's true feelings for her.

"Anything you make, I will love!" Kuwabara said proudly.

Kurama smiled at the interactions between Kuwabara and Yukina. If Shizuru was here, she would have looked at her baby brother with embarrassment. But she wasn't, she was with her own boyfriend whom she was seriously considering marrying. Kurama just thought it to be kind of cute that even after all this time, Kuwabara still thought Yukina to be the only one for him. And flaunt it excessively. He then turned his attention to Keiko and Yusuke.

"You miss Botan," Yusuke stated more than asked.

"Hai," Keiko sadly said. "Before she use to visit almost everyday. Then it turned to every few days and then once or twice a week. Now it's only a few times every month. I understand that she's busy, but I still would like to see her again."

Kurama's eyes softened at Keiko's words. He too missed the ferry girl.

"Yukina, why don't you invite your brother to come to the party this year? It's been such a long time since we've all been together," he told Yukina.

"I'll try. But he declined going the last couple of years," Yukina replied. But he saw the resolve in her eyes. Kurama knew that she would try harder this year.

"He better come! No one makes my Yukina sad! Not even her brother!" Kuwabara declared.

"Kazuma, I'm sure that Hiei will come this year," Yukina said.

"Come to what?" Hiei said leaning by the door. Kurama was impressed. He didn't even sense Hiei coming until a second before he spoke. Hiei was getting stronger. He wondered how much stronger Hiei was now.

"Speak of the devil," Yusuke muttered. "Hiei! Long time no see. You don't write, you don't call. If it wasn't for Kurama and Yukina, I would have thought that you'd die."

"To the reunion party that we're planning to hold this year. We were going to ask you if you wanted to come this year," Keiko said, ignoring Yusuke.

Hiei didn't answer. Instead he looked around the room. Kurama, his sister, the oaf, Yusuke, and his soon to be mate. Genkai wasn't in the temple. Probably went out. Neither was Shizuru. Botan wasn't there either. But from she has told him and from Kurama and Yukina as well, she didn't visit frequently anymore.

"Please come this year brother," Yukina asked Hiei softly. "It would be nice to have everyone here after so long again. I'm sure that Koenma and Botan will be here too."

She took his hand in hers and looked into his eyes that were the same as hers. He couldn't say no to her now. "Hn. Fine."

"Thank you," she smiled in gratitude.

"Great! Now all we need to do is tell Koenma, Botan, Genkai and Shizuru," Keiko said happily.

"Easy enough," Yusuke said. "Now, let's get back to our game Kuwabara."

Kurama went towards Hiei while Yukina smiled once more at Hiei. Their eyes having a silent conversation that only the twins knew. And then she squeezed his hands before letting go and talking with Keiko about the details of the party.

"It's been a while Hiei," he said.

"Hn."

"So brings you to the Ningen world?"

"Yukina."

"I see. Usually you visit her when she is alone. Why is today is different?" Kurama inquired.

"That's none of your business kitsune."

"Whatever you say Hiei. But you know I will find out anyway. Maybe you should tell me now."

"Hn."

Kurama sighed. Hiei was proving to be difficult again. A few minutes later, they both sensed Botan coming their way. A few moments later, Botan was seen, smiling brightly.

"Konichiwa everyone," she said just as brightly. Everyone went to greet her happily. Even Yusuke spun her around in the air before hugging her. Hiei and Kurama stayed where they were. When all the initial greetings were done, she went up to the both of them.

"Hey Kurama, Hiei."

"Hello Botan," Kurama greeted and then went over to hug her. He lingered in Botan's arms a little longer than necessary. He also felt Hiei's gaze as he let her go.

Before Botan and Hiei could say anything to each other, Keiko took Botan with her. "Botan, we're having another reunion party."

"We are? Great! It's been so long since we've all been together. When is it?"

"In three months," Keiko answered.

"Why so long?"

"Because everyone is busy with every other date closer. It has to be in three moths. Plus that gives us time to plan the best reunion party ever!"

"Then count me in! And I'll tell Koenma too. Hopefully he could make some free time for it," Botan said.

"Me too," Keiko agreed.

"Onna," Hiei was suddenly. It made Kurama look to him with interest.

"Hai?" Botan asked.

"I need to talk with you," and he went out of the temple. Botan followed him after exchanging "huh?" glances with Keiko. Kurama followed them with his eyes, wondering what Hiei wanted to say to Botan privately.

"So Hiei, anything new?" Botan asked him when they arrived to a secluded spot outside the temple.

Hiei stared at her thinking. About a year ago, Botan started visiting him occasionally. The first visit wasn't an actual visit because she was lost and he was on patrol in that area looking for lost unfortunate humans to wander around Makai. From there, Botan's visits would be about once a week or so and she would be the one to talk while Hiei listened. Most of the time with one ear. But the visits were often enough to make him consider a possibility.

Botan waited patiently for Hiei to respond. Already used to waiting for Hiei's long period of time to answer, she amused herself by looking around the temple. Not a lot has changed over time.

"Onna," Hiei said, upon reaching a decision. "I want to start courting you."

"N-Nani?" Botan asked confused.

"I want to start courting you. Give me your reply later. I want you to think about it." And he left.


	2. Botan and Kurama to Hiei

AN: Glad that people liked this story so far. The name changed slightly from **Courting Dance** to **Courtship Dance**. Not much of a difference. Also, the writing style will change from now on. It will be from a different person's point of view each chapter.

Thank you the reviewers.

Pen Against Sword – I would love a beta! Thanks for offering. Can you e-mail me at ? And while you're at it, can you tell me what a beta does? Please forgive my ignorance, but I never had one before.

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**Botan (and Kurama) to Hiei**

"Onna, I want to start courting you," you said.

I was confused. Courting? I didn't know what you meant by that.

"N-Nani?" I said confused. I didn't know what to think.

"I want to start courting you. Give me your reply later. I want you to think about it."

And then you left. What did you mean by courting?

"Courting."

The word sounded strange in my mouth. I'd never been courted before. Now you come along. Asking to court me. It's strange, don't you think? You, Hiei, high ranking demon wants to court me. Me, a ferry girl of Renkai. Why do you want to court me? What is courting? How is it done with demons?

"Courting," I said again. This time, it didn't sound so strange.

To get my answers, I would have to talk to your best friend. He would know more about it. Yukina wouldn't be able to answer all of my questions since she reproduces asexually. Kurama would know. I couldn't ask you. You left too quickly before I could even gather my thoughts. And I don't know how to answer you.

Would I have said yes because I was afraid that you'd kill me if I'd say no? Or would have I said no because the probability of you considering to court me was so unlikely that I would have said no automatically? I still don't know what to say to you. Now you left me here, standing outside alone. You left me standing here, not knowing how much time is going by because I'm still stuck in that moment.

That one sentence replays in my mind over and over again.

"_I want to start courting you."_

You didn't even ask me if I wanted to be courted! You just decided out of the blue that you want to court me. At least you gave me a choice. So I guess that could count as asking. You worry me. Before, you terrified me. Now you worry me. You put me in a position that I don't know what to do. Worst, I don't know what kind of reaction you would have with my answer. If I ever get one.

Looking at the trees surrounding the temple one more time, I started to walk back to the temple. Back inside, Keiko and Yusuke started to leave. You weren't there. I didn't think that you'd still be here anyways. Kuwabara would stay with Yukina until Genkai came back. He didn't want Yukina to be lonely.

"Bye Keiko-chan," I hugged Keiko tightly. She did the same.

"Bye Botan. I'll see you tomorrow, ne?" she asked with such hope in her eyes. I couldn't say no. Even though I wanted too.

"Hai. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good. Come on Yusuke. You promised my otou-san that you would help in the restaurant," she dragged Yusuke by the ears.

"I am still getting paid, ne?" Yusuke asked as he followed her down the stairs.

I heard Keiko say Hai before I couldn't hear anymore from them. I watched them go all the way down the stairs while waiting for Kurama. I wonder what he is doing to not come out yet. He said that he was leaving.

"What are you looking at that has gotten your interest so?" Speaking of the devil.

I turned around and there he was, smiling. He's eyes were lit up in amusement and a little of something else. I think he's laughing at me. A tint of a blush forms on my cheeks.

"Nothing. I was just waiting for you."

That something in his eyes sort of intensified. I think that it was curiosity. He always was such a curious person.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure of you waiting patiently for me. Dare I say that you want to join my fan club and walk me home?"

I laughed. Kurama was such a flirt.

"Sadly no. I actually have something to ask you. Are you busy right now?"

"No, I'm not. I'm at your service," his smile was polite.

"Well… you see…" I fidgeted a little. "What do demons do when they court?"

Kurama blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What do demons do when they court?" I repeated. That blush is going a little deeper. "You know, like courtship."

Kurama raised one of his eyebrows. "May I ask why you want to know?"

I turned around so he wouldn't see my very red face. "Um… Well, Hiei kind of asked me if he could court me," I muttered the last part.

Kurama must have heard anyway because his next reply was so abrupt. "What?!"

And kind of loud too. Unusual for him. When I turned around to face him, something flashed in his green eyes before he closed them. An expression that was almost thoughtful was on his face. But it was really something that I couldn't decipher.

"Kurama, are you okay?"

"When did he ask you this?" he asked, ignoring my question. His eyes were open and very serious.

I was a bit surprised, but answered anyway. "Before he left."

"And what did you say?"

"What did I say? You mean as a reply?"

"Yes. Botan, this is very important." His face and voice grave.

"I didn't get the chance to answer back. And he said that he wanted me to think about it first."

"Good, at least he gave you time," he half muttered to himself.

"Kurama is there something wrong?" now I was really confused.

"Botan, courting is a very serious thing among demons. Like humans, the end result of courting can led to marriage. Or with demons, mating," he said.

"And mating between demons is a life time bond," I finished for him. It didn't really occur to me that I might actually be mated to you. The idea intrigued me and terrified me at the same time. I shivered.

"Do you know that there are two ways that a demon can mark another demon?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"One way is more temporary. The scent stays on the two demons for a brief period of time. It marks that the two are together. Like mating, it shows that other demons cannot touch them."

"But why have a temporary fling?"

Kurama coughed a little. "It is there for when demons do not want to permanently mate. Usually the reason is for bearing children without attachments. So naturally the method for this type of mating is by bedding each other."

"Oh," naughty thoughts formed in my head. I blushed at them. "So you mean sex," I blurted out. I blushed harder. I couldn't believe that I just said that out loud.

"Well, yes. That's one way of putting it. And of course you know the other way, a bite between the left shoulder and neck that forms a permanent mark."

I nodded my head to indicate that I knew.

"And you don't know about courting among demons, correct?"

I nodded my head again.

"As you know, most demons don't want feelings such as love. But those who do want mates may undergo courting to see if they would be a compatible pair. This is not a common thing. Most who do mate, and end up not liking their mate, would kill them."

My eyes widen. Would you kill me?

"But those who do court take it very seriously. They are putting their pride and feelings on the line. Traditionally, the first week is the most fragile. Courting could be broken easily during the first week because the bond or relationship between the two isn't strong yet. Like ningen courting, the two talk, to get to know each other. On the second week, gifts may be exchanged. The third week, those who belong in clans may introduce the one they are courting to the clans. It tells the clans, they are seriously thinking of considering having permanent mates," Kurama informed me.

"How long does courting take?"

"Since demons aren't normally fond of emotions, so it could take anywhere from one to two weeks or months. It also varies on the type of demon. Animal demons, such as myself, could take about two weeks. Elemental demons like Hiei, may possibly be a little longer. It also depends on the two courting each other. There are many variables to courting that you'd have to consider," Kurama said.

"Talking, gift giving, and meet the family. Got it."

"There's more. Demons who are courting spend a lot of time together," Kurama said.

I frowned. "How much time?"

"Mostly everyday during courting. Touching may also be an essential part when the two become close. It shows that they care for each other."

"Touching?" I squeaked.

"Somewhere along the lines of holding hands or more," Kurama said. Some amusement was in his voice and eyes.

"I see. So that means that I left to stay in the Ningen world, ne?" I said thoughtfully.

"Yes. It is important that the two stay close together or at least know where the other is going to be." Kurama paused. Then he added quietly, "Does that mean that you are going to agree to his proposal?"

I thought about for a moment. "I guess I will. But what happens if the two courting doesn't end in mating?"

"Either the two kill each other," I paled at that. "Or they don't see each other anymore. Literally."

"How nice," I muttered.

"We're all not that bad Botan," Kurama said with a warm smile. "I'm sure that you know a demon that's well mannered and pleasant to be around."

I laughed again. "I don't know. Most demons that I know are rude and have bigger egos than Renkai has spirits. Yukina is an exception of course."

"Of course," Kurama smiled again. I couldn't help but notice that there was some sadness there as well.

But before I could question him on it, Genkai finally came back.

"Gankai! Hi! I have a favor to ask," I told her as she came up the stairs. I didn't notice Kurama leave.

I've never been in love. Maybe I'll fall in love with you. I just hope that I won't regret my decision. And I won't have to go through all the pain for nothing.


	3. Koenma and Botan

**Koenma and Botan**

He was stamping his name on hundreds of papers when she came. She was shifting her feet from side to side with uneasiness. He began to wonder what she was restless about. She had told him earlier that she was going to visit Ningenkai, and he wondered if she had recently gotten back. Perhaps the visit was too much for her. But she wasn't gone for too long.

So what could be wrong with her?

He ignored her for the first minute or so, busy with his paper work. It didn't really bother her. She was too busy chatting with George. Most likely trying to suppress her numerousness before telling or asking him something that she knew that he wouldn't like to hear.

He looked down at the paper he was holding before he stamped it. It was a request for one of the ferry girls to retire. According to the paper, she had been working in Reikai for about 300 years. Not very long in Reikai standards, but he let her retire. She was to go to one of the heavens and he would let her rest. The next paper that he saw was a request from someone who had just recently died and wanted to be reborn. He denied that and then he looked up from his work. George had just left the office.

It was just him and her.

"Koenma, are you busy? I'd like to speak to you for a moment," she said.

He cleared his desk of some of the paper work that was already done. "How was your trip Botan?"

"It was good." Some of her uneasiness was visibly removed. "Keiko said that she wants to hold a reunion party in three months. Everyone is going to be there. Including Hiei." He noticed a slight change in her voice at the mentioning of Hiei's name. "She also would like you to be there as well, Koenma."

"In three months?" he checked his computer to make sure that he had some free time in three months. He didn't. But he would make some room. He deleted some plans he had made and added in the reunion party.

"Done. Anything else?"

She started to fidget with discomfort again. "Yes. There is one more thing that you should know. And one request that I would like to make."

A request? People usually asked for something in paper and then sent it to him. He raised one of his eyebrows. This was catching his interest.

"What is it?" he couldn't hide his curiosity in his voice.

"Hiei… ano, Hiei asked if he… Hiei asked to court me," she said slowly.

He heaved back in his chair from when he leaned forward when she was slowly telling him this news. He looked up to her face and he saw the worry there. Hell, he was worried too. His heart twisted. He didn't let it show. The news was something new and unexpected. It could also be dangerous.

"What was your reply?" he asked carefully.

"I didn't get the chance to answer him. He told me to think about it first."

He relaxed. But not completely. "What is your decision?"

She didn't answer right away. When she did, however, he felt his heart stop.

"I've decided to agree to his offer," her eyes were set. But he saw the flicker of uncertainty there. He knew that she had thought long and hard about this. Now that she had made a decision, she would not go back. He wouldn't stop her.

"You do know what may happen in the end?" he asked, just to make sure that she knew what she was getting into.

"Hai. Kurama told me all about it. I'm not sure what to expect exactly, but at least I have the basic idea of what to do," she said.

So, Kurama was the one to tell her all about demon courting. He always wondered where the kitsune's feelings laid. He wasn't exactly sure, but he had a guess as to whom Kurama loved.

"Good." His voice hid what he felt. There was so much he wanted to say to her. He kept his mouth closed, so the words would stay out of reach of her ears.

"I suppose your request then is to stay in Ningenkai during the duration of your courting?"

"Hai," she said this quietly and lowered her head. She knew what was to come out of this.

"Your request is granted," he swallowed hard. "You may continue to have full use of the human body that I gave you from before. You may also have a vacation from now to the reunion in Ningenkai. I'm sure that you know the consequences of this request."

"Hai," she said again. "I'll make sure to get plenty of resting time."

Resting time. Right. He knew that she wouldn't get a sufficient amount of "resting time" to satisfy her soul while she will be in Ningkai for that long period of time. She may even go more than a week without resting. But Botan wasn't dumb. She knew when to do things and when not to.

"Where do you plan on staying?"

"At Genkai's. She said that I may stay there for as long as I liked," she seemed to have everything planned out already.

They stayed silent for a while. Each in their own thoughts. There was something weighing heavily in his mind. He had to ask. "Do you love him?"

Her eyes darkened a bit out of her ambiguity to really answer. "I don't know. I don't think so. But maybe, I could grow to love him. I don't think that he loves me either. Maybe we'll grow to love each other. Maybe we won't. There's always the possibility."

"Yes, the possibility," he repeated softly. "Is there anything else that you would like to say to me?"

"Iie," she shook her head.

"Okay. You may go. Don't forget to tell Miyax that you won't be working for about three months," he said, indicating the Head Ferry Girl of Reikai.

"Hai. Ja ne Koenma," she went out of his office.

"Ja," he called after her.

Maybe it would be worth it for her. Maybe she'll find true love with Hiei. Maybe she'll end up happy. Maybe his heart could stop beating out sadness over the losing of a loved one. The possibilities were endless.

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AN: Woot woot! I updated the next day! I guess that you all know why, it's very short. But at least I updated soon. I felt that this chapter needed to be out. I won't say why. But I can say this, Koenma thinks that Kurama loves Hiei!

Pen Against Sword – I'm really sorry that I couldn't e-mail you this chapter. I have a very good reason for it. My computer wouldn't let me send e-mails to anyone. I have to call my internet provider tomorrow so that they could fix it. And because of this problem, I can't look at the e-mails that I've received either. So I'm really sorry. Hopefully that this problem will be fix soon and I could e-mail you the next chapter. Again, I'm so sorry. And you were right, it is Reikai. I didn't notice. Opps. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Oh yeah, Pen Against Sword is my new beta! (hugs Pen Against Sword tight)


	4. Hiei and Botan

AN: Lil DragonLex (otherwise known as Lexi) straps on black military boots. Sheaths two daggers and one long sword. A gun is strapped on the belt. Black cargo pants and a sleeveless shirt is smooth over. She steps out

Who is going to help me bash my computer because for weeks, it has denied me proper access to the internet?!

crickets are all that is herd

Come on people, without proper connection, I can't e-mail my beta, and I can't e-mail my beta, so that means that I can't give you better HieiBotan chapters to read.

an angry mob forms with clubs at hand

That's what I'm talking about!

Okay, I know that some people are worried that this story might end up a Koenma x Botan or a Kurama x Botan. So I will say this. No offence to KoenmaBotan lovers, but I flinch at reading stories with that couple. KuramaBotan I'm okay with. But I am 100 percent HieiBotan fangirl. But who knows what may happen in the end. You just have to keep on reading. So thank you to all of reviewers. Especially to Runaway Kogoro, because you gave me the motivation to start type way ahead of schedule. Sadly, I'm not happy with the way this chapter came out. Hopefully later I'll come back to it and revise it.

Pen Against Sword – My dear, dear beta. How I envy you! I don't have Kingdom Hearts nor do I have PS2. I want to play it though. I have a friend who does have both and I have a saved game there. But sadly, I don't go to her house often so I can't play it often. But I do have GameCube and I'm hooked on my Legend of Zelda. My e-mail still is messed up. But, I'm sure in two or three days, it will be better. So please be patient.

So, to end the long Author's Note, Happy New Year everyone!

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**Hiei and Botan**

He winced as he stepped inside of his room. He didn't want to, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, there was no one to prove or show that he was strong. He was alone in his room. No one went into his room save for three people other than himself. He would not allow anything else other wise. The room was his. His first one ever. So he kept it his scent dominate over everything else.

He dropped to his bed, back laying flat on the soft covers. Uncharacteristic for him, but he didn't care. He just wanted to rest for a while before leaving. Blood ran from his arms to the bed sheet. He didn't care. He also didn't sleep last night. Or the other night for that matter. It didn't affect his attitude or routine overall. He was a demon. He could have at least three nights without sleep and still have full energy. It was the worrying that got him.

He worried what she might say.

He gave her two full ningen days to think about his proposal. He knew that it was not an easy decision to make. She would have to think about thoroughly. Like he had done before he asked her. For about two months, the idea of having her as his mate seemed almost possible. Strange, but possible. Despite the fact that she was the type of person that he hated and that she was once a ningen. And that she can be annoying and too talkative. But nonetheless, there was something about her that he wanted.

Enough to want to make her his.

Or at least consider it.

He sat up and grab a cloth to wipe out most of the blood that cover his skin that made his wounds look worst than it really was. Yukina would over-react if she saw that much blood on him. He didn't want to worry her about something that wasn't that serious. He didn't want her to worry period. But she had made him promise her that she would be the one doing all his healings if he was still conscious and had even energy to travel to Ningenkai.

It was bribe, he knew. Yukina just wanted to make sure that he'd visit often and she knew that he would kept a promise if he swore. He would have visited often even he didn't swore. He swore anyway, if nothing else, then to please his sister, his twin.

With a last swipe of blood that ran down his fingers, he threw the cloth away and disappeared out of the room.

When he next reappeared, it was outside of Genkai's temple. He sensed her, Yukina, and Genkai inside. He knew that she would be there. She had yet to answer him, so it was only logical that she'd stay in a place that she knew that he would visit often to give him her reply. He jumped down from the tree he was standing on and called to Yukina with his mind. In moments, he saw her emerge from inside and walk up to him.

She smiled at him in greeting and frowned when she saw his wounds.

"Mukuro-san is training you very diligently," she commented as she placed her hands on his abdomen, healing the gashes there before moving on to his arms.

"Hn."

"But I am sure that it is working well for you," she added softly.

"I have gotten stronger." But not strong enough.

"And you will continue to do so," she smiled at him. He gave her a small smile in return.

She understood him. Without him telling her, she knew. There was no need for explanations with them. They were twins.

"Botan-chan is here," Yukina said, even though she knew that he knew. She removed her hands from his body, already done healing him.

"You know," he stated. She smiled.

He looked at her smile closely. It told him nothing of Botan's decision. Whether she accepted it or denied it. He knew that Yukina would not tell him. A small part of him cursed his sister. That part wanted to look into her mind and see what Botan's answer would be. But he wouldn't let himself do that and she knew it. The small part cursed her again. Damn her for being his sister.

"I'll go get her for you," she turned around to do as she said.

He watched his sister's back for a while before turning away. He felt his heart beat a little quicker than normal. After all, he was about to hear something that could change the course of his life for the next few weeks or life. She had to know what courting among demons mean now. He was putting his feelings and pride on the line just by asking her that one question. The kitsune would have told her everything she needed to know by now.

He saw the door open, and she stepped out. The afternoon sun danced on her hair with each step that she took. His heart didn't beat with affections for her. Not yet. There was still no bond between them. But his instincts whispered in his ear that that beautiful creature could be his by this time in the next month.

"Konichiwa Hiei," she said with that smile that she always had on her face.

He nodded his head in greeting to her. He never said hello as greetings. It only led to goodbyes. And to him, goodbyes were forever.

"I've thought about what you said," she said. "I've thought about it for a while. Kurama told me what to expect and what to do. And what could happen. I also spoke to Koenma about this." She didn't look at him in the eyes. She twisted her hands in nervousness.

Hiei retained himself from snapping at her and from looking into her mind to get her answer. He knew that she had to say this. Courting involved the two not just him. She was also risking her feelings.

"And I've decided," she continued. Inside he thanked whoever was listening that she finally got to the point. His heart stopped, waiting to hear her answer. "That I would like to be courted by you."

His heart started to beat again after he heard her answer. His instinct went wild with joy. Finally, he would get a mate. It was jumping way ahead of Hiei, but Botan is the closest person or demon that he had to actually having one. And, if the courting was successful, they _would_ end up as mates anyway. He held himself from taking her on the spot. His instincts wanted to make her his by covering her with his scent. To show that he was happy with her answer, he smiled.

Granted that it wasn't big, it still made Botan happy. She never really saw him smile before. Seeing him smile like this, to her, made her want to bounce with joy. What made it even better was that she was the one who was responsible for making him smile. She vowed that she would do everything that she could to make him smile again.

He watched her eyes dance with happiness. His heart picked up speed. The bond was forming.

"During the mornings, I train with Mukuro. So that means, in the afternoons, I'll come visit you," he said.

"Hai," she said. She eyes were still lit up in happiness.

"Do you still have to go to work?"

"Iie," she shook her head. "Koenma gave me time off until the reunion party. So I have three months of vacation."

"Good."

Silence followed after that. Awkward silence.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked, breaking the silence.

He turned around and walked into the forest. She hesitated before following after him. After a few minutes of walking through the thick forest, she began to tire. She didn't let it slow her down. She wanted to keep up with Hiei. Taking a deep breathe, she continued to move aside branches and tall grass aside. He noticed her tiring a long while ago. When she slowed down to a slower paced, he picked her up bridal style and ran the rest of the way into a clearing and then set her back down on her feet.

He sat down with his back to a tree while watching her catch her breath.

"You're out of shape."

She glared at him. "Thanks for telling me."

He smirked. "I was merely commenting."

She glared one more time at him and then sat down. "You're not going to patrol anymore in Makai?"

"For the time being, no."

"Did you like patrolling?"

"Whether I liked it or not is none of your business."

"Hiei," she said sternly. He looked at her. She had a look of a female demon who disapproved of what her mate was doing. He smirked again. She was going to make a fine mate, and she didn't even know it.

He shrugged. "It's something that I rather not do."

"Like you'd rather be sleeping in your tree?" she said amused.

"Many things are better than help baka ningen out of Makai."

"But there had to be some good times patrolling." Always the optimistic person.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course there are. Just last week, some baka ningen got himself lost and when I found him, every sentence he said ended with no da. And the day after that, I found his friend who screamed at every little thing that moved. We became such good friends afterwards that we exchanged addresses. And tomorrow, I plan on visiting his baka ningen house," heavy sarcasm in his voice.

"That must have been a fun week," she laughed.

"Baka ningen. He was begging to be killed with the way he acted," he muttered.

Her eyes widen. "But you didn't kill him, did you? You know that your not suppose to kill ningens. Or else you'll be put in Reikai prison," she said frantically. The scent of worry was covering her.

He snorted. "Of course I didn't kill him. Though the temptation to do so was extremely high."

It was her turn to roll her eyes at him. "You seem to be very chatty today."

He didn't answer her. When she looked to him to question why, she saw the look in his eyes. The look that said "you should know." Then it dawn to her. Kurama did say that part of courting was that the two people were supposed to talk to get to knew each other. Hiei was just showing her another part of himself that he didn't show just to anybody. He actually talked back. He didn't do that while she visited him in Makai before. Now he is.

She made a big smile with this new realization and began to talk about her day with Keiko yesterday. Hiei settled himself for a long afternoon. He would have to get use to this. Her talking, almost none stop. He'll learn to not nap at her to shut up like he's done so many times before when she was just visiting him.

For the rest of the afternoon, they sat there. Botan talking and Hiei… half listening. He walked her back to Genkai's when the sun was starting to set at a slower pace. For once, she wasn't talking. He was almost grateful for it. They listened to the leaves rustling by the wind and their footsteps crunching the grass.

When they reached Genkai's, Yukina met them at the door.

"Why don't you stay for dinner, Hiei?" she asked.

He looked over to Botan, who nodded her agreement. He looked at the sunset before nodding his agreement. Dinner was simple. Genkai went to bed right after dinner. Frankly, he couldn't believe that the old hag was still alive. Before leaving, he stood by the open door, watching the stars. He heard her come up to stand by him.

"What time are you coming tomorrow?"

"Early afternoon."

"Okay."

"Why are you not helping Yukina?"

Botan sweat drop. "She forbade me from helping her clean the dishes while you were still here."

"Hn."

He turned around to face her and lightly caressed her cheek for a brief moment. In the next second, he disappeared into the night. He left so quickly that he didn't see the blush form on her checks nor did he hear her heart beat race.

While racing through Makai's dark forest, he sensed a ningen lost. He quickly scanned the rest of the forest to see if there were any other demons that worked of Mukuro. There weren't any.

"Damn," he said. He went to the ningen. Before reaching the ningen, he slowed down to not frighten the human. He watched as the ningen scream at a falling leaf.

"YOU AGAIN!"

The next day, Mukuro punched him, unexpectedly and hard. He flew across their training grounds and slammed into a giant rock. The punch left his face bloodied and nearly broken. He struggled to get back up. When he finally did, he wobbled a little and resumed his fighting stance. Mukuro calmly walked up to him.

"You've had enough beating for one day," she said.

He shook his head. "One more time." He staggered.

"You're using most of your strength to stand. What strength do you have left to fight me?"

"I'll find one."

"No. I don't want my second in command to die using all of his strength trying to beat me. Leave. It's almost time to meet her anyway." Mukuro didn't leave right away like she normally did. She looked at him, with a calculating stare. He met her stare with his own. He never backed down. When seemed satisfied, she turned around and left.

He dropped to his knees when he was sure that he was alone. He punched the ground hard. He still wasn't strong enough. An hour later, he called to Yukina again in Ningenkai. As before, she healed all of his wounds. When she was done, they headed inside the house.

Inside, he found Botan pouring tea into Genkai's cup.

"You're late," Genkai said to him. Never looking up from her cup of tea.

Hiei snorted at her.

Botan smiled at him. "Hi Hiei."

He nodded at her.

Then his nose caught something. There was another male that was here. Recently. He was sitting close to Botan. A little too close. Hiei's eyes darkened.

Kurama.

But he would let it pass. He probably was there just for a visit. Botan would have asked him more questions about courting. Yukina would have been interested.

After listening to Botan and Yukina talk for a while, he said suddenly, "Onna, I want to teach you how to fight."


	5. Botan and Hiei and Kurama

AN: Oh my god, I didn't know that I put Botan's name instad of Keiko. Thank you Crystal Koneko. Cookies for you! When I saw that, I immediately went to fix it. Hope that nothing else needs fixing. And those who want Hiei and Kurama to fight, be patient. All good things will come in due time.

**Botan and Hiei and Kurama**

She slowly went up. Outside, the night was in its darkest hour. The wind blew softly through the open window, making a rustling sound on the curtains. She leisurely went to the window. Looking out of it, she saw nothing move but branches moving with the wind.

This would be the first time in five days since she did this. She would have done it sooner, but Hiei's training had left her body too tired and exhausted to anything else but sleep the whole night through. Even now, two days straight of training made her body hurt with almost every move she made. He was ruthless when he fought, but he fought with honor. However when teaching her how to fight, he was not what she could call the patient type.

He growled every time she made a move wrong or when she forgot a routine that she had to follow through. At least he didn't hit her during training or yell at her as much as she thought he would. He was a good teach, that much she could admit. She learned a lot about fight in two days with him than in a year knowing Yusuke.

She lifted her right hand upwards and summoned her oar. Hoping onto her oar and leaving her earthly bounds, she flew into the night.

She flew with the grace of hundreds of years of practice. She soared into the skies of the city and watched as wakeful people busied themselves with going into bars and clubs. She watched police officers arrest drug dealers and her co-workers escort recently departed humans to Reikai. The insomniac life of the modern day city always fascinated her. How someone would always be awake in the city and do something interesting no matter what time of the day.

A few moments later, she flew to the country side and watched the stars where little electricity was located. She did this for the next hour or so. She didn't know how long she stayed there, watching the stars, until the sun began to rise. With a start, she hurried back to Genkai's.

Reaching her bed, she went back to sleep for an hour or two. When she next awoke, it was nearly eight. She starched and winced when her tender muscles ached. She smelled breakfast cooking downstairs and her stomach rumbled in hunger. After taking a shower, she went downstairs for some breakfast.

"Good morning," she said happily to Genkai and Yukina.

"Good morning," Genkai greeted her.

"Good morning Botan-chan. I was about to wake you up," Yukina said with a pleasant smile.

"Well, there's no need for that since I'm here now." she sat down and ate Yukina's delicious food.

Minutes later, Kuwabara and Kurama came. Ever since Botan and Hiei started courting, Kurama would come visit everyday and she and him would talk about what she did with Hiei. He would give her tips on what to do and what not to do. For example, she wasn't supposed to talk about another male with praise. That would give Hiei the idea that he isn't good enough for her. In retaliation, Hiei would challenge that male and possibly kill him to show her that he is strong and good enough for her.

She was careful not to mention anything of admiration of any male around Hiei. That included all of their friends. She didn't want any of them killed. She also didn't want Hiei hurt if he fought them. Yusuke slacked off on fighting since retiring from being a detective, Kuwabara occasionally fought off bullies with his gang and other ruffians, and Kurama was just as strong as before. Kurama would be the only one to give Hiei a real fight in which Hiei will get badly injured. And she didn't want that.

Kuwabara would come in at random times of the day to visit Yukina almost everyday. Botan grew accustom to watching Kuwabara trying to woe the naive Yukina into liking him. She thought that Kuwabara truly did love Yukina and would never harm her. Inside she cheered him on and gave good annotations about him to Yukina when they were alone.

"I have something that would ease the tension in your muscles," Kurama said to her as he settled down and accepted breakfast from Yukina.

"Really? What is it?"

"It's a special kind of mix that I made myself. I would have given it to you sooner but some of the plants that are in it take some time to grow." He handed her a brown bag. "Just sparkle half a handful of this into the water before taking a bath and it will ease your aching muscles."

"Thank you Kurama."

"Kurama, you are very kind," Yukina said as she handed him and Kuwabara their meals.

"But I'm a kind person too! Ne, Yukina?" Kuwabara said trying to get the object of his affections' attention towards him.

Yukina looked at him in shocked. "Of course Kazuma. You're one of the kindest people I know. I would never think anything bad of you because you're not."

Kuwabara sighed in relief. Kurama chuckled. Genkai grunted. And Botan smiled.

Watching this, she noticed the similarities between demon courting and ningen courting. There weren't a lot different. Both had to get the attention and affection of the other. Both involved the "getting to know you" part. Both could result in a union between the two. Expect that a demons' way of courting was more short term and the union more permeate.

"Kurama, can you help me with my kicks? I want to try and perfect that spin kick that Hiei showed me yesterday before he comes this afternoon. I want to surprise him," she asked the kitsune after several minutes when all of them were done eating and all the dishes washed.

Kurama smiled kindly at her. "Okay."

Both of them went outside while Genkai challenged Kuwabara to a poker game without bets. Yukina stayed with Kuwabara.

"Show me the spin kick that you're working on," Kurama commended.

She nodded her head. Then she turned around while jumping into the air a little and bringing her right leg up in a kick. She didn't have her right leg stretch straight. It was curved in a crescent position since her legs still ached from the running that Hiei made her do. When she landed, she faulted but held her ground.

Kurama looked at her with an analytic stare. "That move is a little more advance for your level."

"Hai. But Hiei said that I was a fast learner. He said that he would teach me one move that wasn't on my level so I can see what to expect when he teaches me more advanced techniques."

"I see. Why is Hiei teaching you how to fight?"

"When I asked him why, he said, 'Hn. Onna, you're getting fat,'" she said in her impersonation of Hiei. "And I said, 'No I'm not!' And then he said, 'Fine. Then you're out of shape.' And then I said, 'That's just another way of saying I'm fat!' And then he grunted something that I took as a bad thing. So I asked, 'Am I fat?' He just 'Hn.' Then I sort of yelled, 'You think I'm fat!' He just had this incredulous look on his face that was so funny. Then I ranted on how I wasn't fat and asked Yukina and Genkai if I was. After that, Hiei dragged me outside and started teaching me how to fight. I think that I annoyed him saying that he thought I was fat and all."

Kurama laughed. When he calmed down he asked, "Do you like learning how to fight?"

"I guess. I mean everyone else knows know to fight on some level expect me. Yukina even has her own powers that she could use in defense. So I felt a little left out most of the time. But actually learning it… it wasn't what I expect it to be."

"You mean it's harsher than you thought?"

Her eyes lit up. "Excatly. When I saw Yusuke do it, I never thought that I might do the same thing myself. I hope that Hiei won't make me go through what Yusuke went through with Genkai."

Kurama laughed quietly. "I'm sure that he won't. Now, when you do your kick, make sure to spread you feet move apart." He move her feet away from each other. "And lift your arms away from your body to give it more momentum." He lifted her arms to her chest level.

His skin was cool to touch. Botan was instantly reminded of Hiei's touch. At first, it made her feel a little nervous. Then she started to feel comfortable with him touching her skin. Whenever he touched her to correct a pose, he gave her a slight tingle. His skin was warm. A nice warm. She wondered if it came with being a fire demon.

Hours later, Kurama was showing her how to correctly do a combination of a round house punch, face punch, and a round house kick among others when Hiei came along. She of course didn't notice him there. Kurama sensed him appear. He had his arms around her to show her how to punch someone in the face without stressing her arm when he came. What made the situation seem even worst was that Botan had rolled up her shirt so that her belly was exposed.

Kurama lingered on Botan for third of a second longer before pulling away to look at Hiei. Botan, noticing that Kurama was no longer paying attention to her, looked up to see Hiei. His eyes were dark.

"Hiei," she said surprised to see him since she didn't know that he was there already. "I wanted to surprise you." She bounced up to him.

Hiei moved closer her, all the while glaring at Kurama. Kurama got the massage and backed away from her.

"She only wanted me to help her perfect her moves to surprise you."

Hiei didn't answer and continued glaring. He stood in front of Botan.

"Hiei?" she asked, confused at what was going on between the two.

Kurama continued staring at Hiei. She supposed that they were having a silent conversation inside their heads. With Hiei's telepathy powers. After a while, Kurama smiled at her like without a care in the world.

"I'm going to take my leave now. I'll see you the next time I visit."

He gave her a little wave and left.

She looked at his retreating form at a lost. Then she looked back at Hiei.

"It's nothing onna," he grunted. "He was just testing his boundaries."

"Boundaries?"

"Do your running onna." He went to a tree and to all appearances, took a nap at the trunk.

She huffed at him before doing as he commanded. After jogging around for a while and becoming breathless, she fell down next to Hiei and glared at him.

"What onna?" he asked, not opening his eyes.

She dropped her glare. "Nothing."

He cracked open his eyes a bit to look at her. She put on her innocent kitty face. "Really. Nothing."

"Mad that you have to run around the place while I sleep?"

"No!" she said a little too quickly.

"Right. I believe you."

At a lost on what to say and a little peeved at him she folded her arms on her chest. "Mou."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on onna. Let's train."

She scurried behind him. Their training started out with warm ups followed by practice punches and kicks. After that, they'd work on her reflexes. Then, any other random thing that Hiei decided that she needed to work on. Their training ended when the sun was starting to set.

Botan collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"My body hurts too much to move," she moaned lying on the ground.

"You're still out of shape."

"Don't start that again."

Hiei didn't reply right away. "In three days, I'm going to stop training you."

This made her pause. "Nani?"

"In three days time, the first seven days will be finished." '_And then it will be more serious,' _he added silently to himself.

Then it dawned to her. The first seven days of courting. Kurama did say that the first seven days were the most fragile. And after that, gifts were exchanged. He didn't go too much in that, but was she expected to give him gifts as well? And a bond had been formed with the two of them. She trusted him. She always had. To a curtained extend before. Now, she trusted him more so. It's only been three days now since they've been courting, but she trusted him.

It wasn't enough yet to trust him with her life, or rather her very existence, but it was enough to know that he would catch her when she falls. Like the game that humans play at camps. One person would lean back and fall onto the person behind them if he/she trusted the person who would catch him/her. Years ago, it was a certainty that he would have let her fall. Now she knew that he would catch her. And besides, with all the training that they did, there was no time for talking. She didn't know a lot about him besides the obvious and visa versa. And she was not going to be stuck with a person in which she'll regret later.

Plus, he didn't know about something that she hasn't told anybody yet. And she knew about his past which put him in an unfair advantage since he didn't know hers.

But the real question was; does she want to be permanently mated to him?

"Hai," she said softly. "I didn't even realize it. Time has been going by so quickly."

"Hn."

"Soon Yusuke and Keiko will be married. And before we know it, they'll have kids. And Shizuru will marry that guy she's with. Kurama… who knows what will happen to him."

"He'll marry a ningen. Or mate a demon."

"You really think so?"

"How shall I know? I'm not a seer."

"But you do have a third eye." She pointed to his hidden eye and giggled.

"Immature baka." He rolled his eyes at her again.

"Only those with nothing to say in return fall back on name calling," she said in her most sophisticated voice.

"Who's naming calling when it's true?"

"Hey!"

"You know it's true."

"You're just a big mean bully."

"Whose name calling now onna?"

She stuck her tongue at him.

"Immature baka," he muttered.

"I heard that!"


	6. Mukuro to Hiei

AN: Thank you everyone for the reviews. Thought that it was time to introduce a character who loves Hiei. Sorry if there are OOC moments.

Botan's horse – Yes, Kurama is getting a little too close to Botan. But there are reasons for it, which I'm sure is obvious. I don't remember saying what the pairs the story should be. Personally, I'm in love with the Hiei/Botan pairing. There will, however be a little twist during the story.

Crystal Koneko – In case you didn't read the last **_edited _**chapter, I gave cookies for you. Thank you.

I would thank each and every one of you and write you all some stuff, but my fingers hurt too much for typing right not. It was a busy day. So hope you all enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Mukuro to Hiei**

It was a rhythm. A beat. Like a pulse. Knowing when the next thump would be felt, at what time interval. Knowing what kind of beat it should beat. Fast. Slow. Faint. Loud. But it was really a dance. A dance that gave no music to a spectators' ears. It was our measure of scales. Our own tempo that we created.

Only we knew the lyrics.

Only we heard the music.

Only we knew the steps.

Only we knew the song.

It filled our ears. When it was loud, it was all that we could hear. When it was faint, we strained to hear it. When it was fast, we moved faster. When it was slow, we lessened our pace. It was all that we needed. It was all that we wanted. This odd, unusual music that overflowed in our heads. This melody that was never purposely meant to be made. But not unwelcome. It was never unwelcome.

We embraced it. Loved every beat of it. Whether the harmony was strained or sounded like a gift from the gods. We thrived in it.

And I had foolishly deluded myself into believing that it would last forever.

We memorized this dance of ours to the music that only existed in our minds. I would punch, you would block. I would kick, you would dodge. You would kick, I would block. You would punch, I would dodge. You would summon your flames, I would blow them out. You would summon your fire, I would dance in it. I was stronger than you. We both know that. But that never stopped you. It seemed like nothing would stop you from getting what you want.

You wanted to get stronger. And so you have. Years of fighting and training under me had made you stronger. You are so close. So close to the level that I am and even further. It's right there. Right above your reach. Just an inch out your range. You didn't know, but you wore me out. Every punch that you delivered, every kick you sent, I felt it all. I felt it all with deep pains that I kept hidden so that your endeavor to go stronger would grow. So your need to become powerful would intensify. And you always get want you want.

And now you want her. That little ferry girl of Reikai. That bubbly, cheerful, loud ningen spirit that worked for Koenma. You want her in a way that I knew that you didn't understand. These types of emotions were still new and foreign to you.

Perhaps it was love? But no. You didn't love. You love your sister. You love fighting. You didn't love her. You cared, but not love. There was a difference.

You didn't love. Not yet.

You care about her. You care about her safety yes. But you didn't love her. For years, the closest person for you to actually loving someone in a romantic way would have been me. It was a fact not a statement. And I enjoyed that fact.

Now that fact is being threatened by someone whom I could kill without using real effort. But I won't kill her. You still cared for her. Not a great deal, but enough to go on a hunt to even the deed. I would not kill her because of you. Because I can not look at you if you are sad. It would be pathetic. You would be pathetic. And I refuse to make you pathetic.

I refuse to degrade who you really are. You are everything you believe you are and more.

Prideful. Strong. There is nothing that you can't do.

In our endless waltz, you've become stronger. When it first began, I stayed within the confinements of my bandages. You didn't care. When I first took them out to train with you, you didn't care. You didn't say anything special. You just nodded your head to show me that you were ready to begin. My deform appearances didn't bother you. It didn't make you look at me with disgust or pity.

You didn't need or want pity. You don't give pity.

We are both alike. That's why we are kindred spirits. Two souls who have walked similar paths. Two souls who have no need or want for those who degrade us or give us pity. We are two souls who live to become strong and show the worlds that we are not to be trifled with. Our trust is not easily earned. Our hearts not easily open. That is why I had hoped that you would care for me. Care for me the way that I care for you.

But this girl stands in the way. And I am almost powerless to stop it because I want you to make your own decisions. When you decide to want me, I want you to want me to be your own choice.

I hate free will.

Mornings belong to us and us alone. We watch the sun rise together. Never needing to say a word. An understanding has always been with us. We'd wake early, watch the sun, eat lightly if we'd feel like it, and then the music starts. Our dance starts. That nameless tune playing in our minds. The dance that you'd wish you'd win.

Don't worry. You'll win. Soon. Each day is a day closer to want you want. And after that, who knows?

Before the courting, you'd use to go to Ningenkai only to visit your sister. She'd heal you after every fight. Afternoons you would patrol. Nights we would sit next to each other just watching the sky or surrounding environment. Sometimes we'd spar. I had your schedule memorized. I knew it as well as my own. Now the afternoon and nights changed. So you could go see her. But it didn't matter all too much in moments like this. We still had our dance. We still had our song.

That won't change. Not anytime soon. It would always belong to us.

It was day five. I counted the days. I had to. The end result involved me as well. We had already watched the sun rise in our peaceful silence. You had already taken off your shirt. In my mind's eye, I saw all the scars that adored your strong body. Scars that I had put. I traced them on your clear chest. Yukina did fine a job healing all of your wounds. She was better than most demons. A fine healer.

You took your stance. Sword in hand. I took mine with my own sword, waiting to strike. We both stared at each other emotionlessly. It was part of our ritual. Just waiting for the music to start so our bodies could sing to it.

This song and dance would be forever ours.

It began. The clashing of swords only added to our song. The sound only excited my blood. Our rhythm was practiced to perfection. I knew all of your moves. You knew all of mine, but could not stop me. But that was before, this was now. We were matched. Even. This dance exhilarated me. In this dance, you belonged to me. And only me. I could keep you as long as I wanted.

_Ssss…_

You drew blood. I was impressed. Your skills in sword fight have improved a great deal. Better than mine. The music has gotten faster. Louder. It was intoxicating. We've picked up speed. Just a blur to anyone who had any real skill in fighting that could see. Too fast for anyone to catch up with. Too strong for anyone else to defeat. This was our dance. This was our ritual. This is what I love.

Concentrating. That is the look on your face. Pure concentration. It was easy to tell what had happened on your visit to that girl. You showed me when you fought. How you fought the day after tells me your feelings. Focusing left over annoyance in this dance. Did she annoy you? Or was it competition? I didn't ask. I really didn't want to know. But I was curious. Perhaps I'll ask another time. Now, all I wanted to do is dance our dance to this nameless music.

And when the music stopped, when the song ended, you left. Strong enough to stand. Strong enough to travel to Ningenkai. Strong enough to nod to me in your way of goodbye. You never said goodbye. You never said farewell. I've always wonder why but never asked. Maybe she'll ask. Maybe she won't. Maybe I'll ask. Then again, I'm not one who says goodbye as well. It was a habit I suppose. A habit I break every so often.

The day was a blur. I didn't really care what happened. One of the few days that the music still had me captivated. I waited for you at night. And when the sun rised again, our dance began again. It was a cycle. A ritual. Waiting for the music to begin again, we took our stance once more like we will do again for the next few days. The next few months. And maybe the next few years.


	7. Kaimono

**Kaimono**

"_O I could have married the king's third son,_

_And he would have married me,_

_But I forsook a crown of gold_

_And it's all for the sake of thee."_

Botan sang as she finished dressing for the morning. She twirled around once to make sure that her obi was securely in place and then headed downstairs for breakfast. There was a small bounce to her steps. It was the last day of the first week. After that, the real courtship would begin. The first week was really just a trial. They'd survived the first week. Now it was onto the second week.

The week with gifts!

Of course, she had no idea what to give to Hiei, but the curiosity of the gift that he would give her made her tingle with anticipation. She couldn't wait to see what item Hiei would give her. She half hoped that it wouldn't be a sword. She didn't know how to use one and she had no real use for it except for decoration. Daggers would be used as paperweights. She's been a ferry girl for so long that weapons were useless for what she did.

Then again, if she and Hiei mated, weapons wouldn't be a bad idea to have. Maybe she should ask him for two swords. And since she was a ningen spirit currently having a ningen body, maybe she should buy another three or four swords. Just to be on the safe side. Plus, with the added protection that Hiei would provide for her, she felt almost impenetrable.

The thought of Hiei protecting her as his mate made her stop dead in her tracks. Her heart pounded furiously. The past week with Hiei had been a once-in-a-life-time experience. She had seen something in him that was hard to believe, but true. He was patient with her during training and made small jokes by teasing her. Years ago, she would have died, again, from disbelief and shock if she saw him the way she saw him now. She supposed that it was part of courting that made one open up a little more. But she couldn't help what she was feeling for him.

She cared about him. A lot.

It would explain why she thought about him a lot. Why else would she worry that she might let him down when they trained or that she would embarrass herself at the same time in front of him? Okay, maybe she was afraid being teased by him or of him thinking that she was noting but a weak little baka onna, but still. She knew that she cared for him. Love was still a far way off.

"Ohayou-gozaimasu!" she said brightly as she usually did while entering the dining room where breakfast was cooling off on the table.

"Good morning Botan-san. We just received a call from Keiko-chan. She'll be here in a few minutes," Yukina said with a smile.

"Keiko-chan is coming!" Botan said happily. It'd been a while since she had last seen the young woman and she had a lot of things to tell her.

"I think that she's going to be here the whole day. She said something about not having classes today and also not needing to work in her restaurant."

"That's great! I can finally tell her about me and Hiei!"

"Girls, not that I'm not happy to see that you two are happy about Keiko coming here, but can we please eat before the food gets cold?" Genkai said.

"Sorry Genkai-san. Let's eat!" and with that, Botan sat down and began eating breakfast.

After the food was gone and the dishes were stocked up in the sink, Keiko arrived.

"Keiko-chan! I have lots to tell you!" Botan said happily, all the while hugging the other girl tightly.

"I'm sure that you do," Keiko said and was released from Botan's arms. She then hugged Yukina less tightly. "Do you have a lot to tell me as well?"

"I have the same news as Botan-san," replied the small demon.

"Sit, sit," Botan patted on the mat that was on the floor and the girls sat down. "First off, I'll be staying here with Genkai and Yukina for while."

"Koenma gave you time off?" Keiko asked hopefully.

"Hai."

"That's great! That means that we could go shopping and hang out more! Do you want to go shopping this afternoon? We could invite Shizuru."

"Keiko… I can't go shopping with you," Botan said almost hesitantly.

"Why not? It there something wrong, Botan?" Keiko asked worriedly.

"Iie." Botan shook her head. "It's not that. It's just…" a light blush appeared on her face. "Remember when Hiei asked to talk to me before last week?" Keiko nodded her head. "Well, he asked to court me. And I said yes."

"Court? Don't you mean date?" Keiko asked confusedly.

"No, she means courting," Yukina corrected. "Hiei is demon. Demons do not date as ningens would."

"So, Hiei wants to court you, counterpart of ningen's dating?" she pointed to Botan.

"Hai. But actually, we're already courting."

"How long?" Keiko's eyes were wide with curiosity.

"Seven days now."

"A week! And you didn't even tell me!" Keiko was hurt that the person whom she considered a best friend hadn't told her something as important as this.

"Gomen nasai. Demo, it just happened. And when it did, it seemed like the only ones I could talk to about it were… well, demons. Because human dating and demon courting are different. I'm so sorry Keiko-chan!" Botan hugged the other girl tightly again.

"It's okay. I forgive you." Keiko patted Botan's back. When Botan finally let go, she sat back down and smiled at Keiko.

"So tell me about this courting."

And so Botan told Keiko about courtship and the difference with ningen dating. She also told Keiko what she and Hiei did together. Like training. Hiei liked training her. Botan told her it was because so he could tease her about being fat and her suspicion about him not wanting a defenseless mate. Along with Botan's account of what they've been doing, Kurama appeared without anyone's knowing and listened as well.

"It's strange that Hiei would ask to court you. Didn't he always say that he hated ningens?" Keiko mused to herself.

"Feelings can change, Keiko-san," Yukina said.

'_But she does pose an interesting question,'_ Kurama thought to himself.

Botan stayed silent.

Keiko had a thoughtful expression. "Do you like him in a romantic way?"

"I care for him. I know that. I don't think that I love him," Botan answered truthfully.

Yukina had a thoughtful expression as well. Though her thoughts were different from Keiko's, and had eyes that regarded Botan with something that Botan couldn't quite place. Kurama's eyes were guarded, concealing his thoughts.

"Since you can't leave in the afternoon, how about we go shopping now?" Keiko asked, breaking the silence.

"That's a great idea!" Botan exclaimed. "And while we're at it, Kurama could help me find a gift for Hiei!"

"So you are planning to continue with the courtship?" Kurama asked.

"Hai."

"You understand that your relationship with Hiei will be brought to another, higher level. Breaking it off in the middle will have some damaging effects to not only Hiei, but to you as well. Now is one of the crucial points in courting. This is the determining point in which courting can become serious and gives a true affect in the lives of both people. Have you thought about this carefully?" Kurama's eyes were grave.

"Hai. I've been thinking about it for a while now. And I've decided that if Hiei still wants to go through with it, then I do too."

Kurama nodded his head and closed his eyes.

"So if we're going to go shopping, we should go now," Keiko said and got up.

"I'll go ask Genkai if she would like to come," Yukina said and went in search for the old woman.

"We'll wait for you in the car," and then Keiko led Kurama and Botan to the car.

They got to the mall a couple of minutes later. Genkai politely declined going. Their first stop was a clothing store in which Botan and Keiko spent over an hour picking out what to buy. Both came out with two large bags each, Yukina with one bag, and Kurama with a small bag that he said was for his mother.

"If you don't have classes today, don't Yusuke and Kuwabara have free time as well?" Botan asked.

"No," Keiko shook her head. "They still have classes. If they know what's good for them, they better pay attention to the professors. This is our last year at college, and I refuse to wait for Yusuke for another year to get married. I made sure that they'd be in class today." Keiko had fire in her eyes upon mentioning her fiancé.

"I don't think that I want to know what you did to them," Botan said with a slight smile.

"That store looks lovely. Can we go in there next?" Yukina pointed to a store where the displays showed small crystals.

"That's a new store. I've never been there before. Okay, let's go," and Keiko took the lead.

Inside, the store was cozy looking, lit with small chandeliers. An old woman greeted them by the doors as it made a soft chime because of the bells. Crystals varying from as small as a finger nail to as big as a full-grown man, shined the room with rainbow colors. The crystals were made in many forms; animals, humans, objects, and even houses. The biggest one was made in the form of a Sakura tree that showed all of its grandeur in the middle of the store.

While Yukina and Keiko admired the cherry blossom tree, something else caught Botan's eyes. It was a small dragon that was big enough to fit in the palm of her hand.

"Do you like it? It took me months to do it."

Botan looked up to see a middle aged man smiling kindly at her.

"You really made this? It's beautiful."

The man laughed quietly. "Thank you."

"Did it really take you months to make this?"

"Yes. If you look closely at it, you'll notice that I paid a little too much into making the details of it."

She looked more closely at it. Indeed he had paid attention to detail quite a lot. She could see the scales and feel each ripple. The tail was made in a curved position, as if it coiled to strike. She half expected it to. The eyes were colorless, but she could practically see the fire raging behind them. The dragon was alive. She looked up at the old man and smiled.

"How much?"

The man's eyes twinkled. "Are you sure that you want to buy this? It must be for someone special." He never lost his kind smile.

Botan shifted her feet, unsure. Finally she said, "I'm sure."

After the crystal shop, Yukina and Botan went into a kimono shop. Keiko declined from going.

"I don't have any money for a kimono. Besides, I don't need a new one," was her reply.

Inside the shop, one particular kimono caught her eyes. She immediately went up to it and touched its fabric. Yukina, seeing that Botan was busy looking at one kimono with her full attention, went up to her. She smiled.

"Hiei would love it."

"You think so?" Botan asked vaguely.

"Hai."

"I have a ribbon that matches with this. I've had it for years."

Yukina nodded her head in acknowledgment.

With the morning gone, it also meant that the shopping trip was over. Back at Genkai's, Botan quickly went to her room to dispose of her new belongings and changed her clothes for the afternoon. By the time she was done, lunch was ready to be served. Genkai had cooked for them.

"Itadakimasu!" they all said.

"Kurama, what kinds of gifts do demons exchange?" Botan asked the kitsune before putting rice into her mouth.

Kurama thought for a moment before answering. "Nothing really trivial. It's not the same with ningens who give gifts out of the kindness of their hearts or for no reason at all. With demons, there is always a reason behind a gift. But the gift does not always have to be a material object."

"What do you mean?" Keiko asked.

"Well, the gift could be a great act of kindness that one would not normally do. A simple gesture that is never done, words spoken that are never said, or…. make a proclamation to retrieve the head or heart of an enemy so that the other could eat it," he mumbled the last part so low that Yukina was the only one to hear it. And maybe even Genkai.

"It figures that demons would consider that a gift," she muttered.

"What was that last part?" Botan asked.

"What do you mean by that, Genkai?" Keiko asked.

"Don't worry. It's not something that you should worry yourselves over,"

Yukina said.

The two confused girls just looked at each other and shrugged. If Yukina said so.

"Gochisosama deshita!"

The plates were collected after lunch and Kurama, Yukina, and Genkai went to wash them while Keiko and Botan sat on the porch.

"Does Hiei train you hard?" Keiko asked.

"Not really. But it's enough that all I want to do afterwards is sleep. That's why I'm so glad that after tomorrow I won't be training anymore."

"But if you mate him, doesn't that mean that you would have to live in Maikai?"

"I guess I would have to, wouldn't I?" Botan said quietly, her voice far away.

"What's the matter, Botan? Is there something wrong?"

Keiko's concerned voice snapped Botan out of her thoughts. "No, no. It's nothing. Sorry to worry you."

Keiko wasn't convinced with Botan's smile and light voice. But she let it go. They talked more for a few minutes, just catching up on lost time that they hadn't spent with each other. Then Hiei came. He only nodded his head in acknowledgment to Keiko. She smiled at him, excused herself, and went inside.

"Running?" Botan asked as she got up.

He nodded his head.

"Um, Hiei?" He stopped half way to his tree were he usually slept while she ran. "Can you run with me today?"

He looked at her with only one of his eyes showing from the side of his head. He nodded. "Hn."

Botan smiled wide. "Great!"

The run was different when Hiei ran with her. She went on a faster pace so Hiei wouldn't feel so bored. She felt the need to improve her speed. To become better. Not to be weak. She didn't want Hiei to have a mate that was weak. Her heart quickened. She refused to follow where that train of thought led. It would only confuse her.

After the run, they did some practice fighting. Botan punched, Hiei blocked. Then he hooked his left leg around hers and brought Botan down.

"Never look solely at your opponent's face. Look at their chest. You'll see movements of whether they are going to use their arms or legs. Now try again." He brought her up and went back to his stance.

"Tell me why again are we doing this?" she dusted off some of the dirt from her clothes. Her sweat made her skin feel sticky.

"You are out of shape."

"Right." And then she practically threw herself at him. He flipped her in the air and brought her down to her back in one fluid motion. She moaned in pain. "Ow. I can't wait until tomorrow."

A couple of hours later, Botan was once again on her back catching her breath. Hiei sat by her watching her face. He looked away when her eyes reached him. She sat up and thought of what to say.

"Today Keiko, Yukina, Kurama, and I went to the mall. It was the first time that I actually got to spent some time with Keiko in a long time. It was fun. I bought a new kimono to wear and some other stuff like this crystal peony that I saw in this really nice crystal shop. Yukina bought some new ningen clothes for when she goes into the city with Kuw—" Botan stopped and added quickly, "Genkai! You know how much those two love watching those ningen movies. Hehehe?"

Hiei growled low in his throat. Botan started to panic. She and her big mouth! This was what it was going to be like for the rest of her life. Her saying something stupid and wrong to Hiei!

But instead of Hiei saying something about Kuwabara and how he hated him, he asked, "Do you spend a lot of time with Kurama?"

Botan was stumped. She definitely wasn't expecting that. What was she supposed to say? This was one of those things that Kurama had warned her about. Competition. Did Hiei feel like Kurama was trying to steal her from him? But that was a stupid idea. She only saw Kurama as a friend. And he the same way. Right?

"Only in the mornings. I tell him what we do and—"

"You tell him what?" Hiei yelled. He got to his feet so fast that Botan never saw him move.

"I tell him what we do only because—" She tried explaining as she got to her own feet.

"Onna! This is our business!" he grabbed on to her arm. "Not his. If he wants a mate, then he can go out and find his own woman to court. He has a damn fan club devoted to him! You," he pulled her so close to him that her body was pressed against his. "You belong to me."

He let go of her so quickly that the only thing as evidence that she had been so close to him was the heat of his body that was still coursing through her own. Her heart beat wildly. Her legs felt a little weak.

"At least you will be," he said quietly.

"Hai," she replied just as softly, not really noticing what she was saying. She was still in shock over what happened. And what she saw. The possession in his eyes. It made her shiver. Half in terror and half in delight. Maybe their courtship wouldn't be as long as Kurama thought it would be. Maybe it would be shorter. That thought sent warning bells in her head to go off. Loudly.

But she couldn't dwell on that thought more because Hiei was speaking. And chances were that he wouldn't repeat himself.

"Do you still want to continue with this? With our courting?" He looked at her straight in the eyes. He wasn't one to back down from challenges and that habit wasn't going to end any time soon.

There was no doubt in her mind what her answer was. "Yes."

He nodded his head and sat back down on the grass. Botan watched him for a moment and than she too sat down. Next to him. Close to him. Together they watched the sun set. Neither of them saying anything. Botan, because she had nothing to say. Hiei, because he was Hiei. Plain and simple as that. And that was what attracted her to him the most. The silence that he offered and the calm that his mere presence demanded when he was in a good mood. Not everything about him was about chaos and fighting.

"Tomorrow, I will bring you a gift," was the last thing he said to her before leaving.

Botan got ready for bed and brushed her hair. She looked out the window and imagined Hiei running free. No one was able to catch up with him. In her dreams, she dreamt about fire. Each flame had its own meaning. Its own purpose for being. And she also dreamt how angels were not the only beings with divine beauty. She didn't wake up once during her dreams.

Her morning, however, did not have the same feeling of wonder and tranquility. Upon opening her eyes, she saw ruby red. And then she opened her mouth and screamed.


	8. Hostility Begins

AN: I am so sorry! I tried doing the update once a week thing, but I largely underestimated how much school has taken up my life. I guess it comes with the package of being a junior. I will_ try_ to update next week since I have a whole week off! Yay! No promises though. I have an important test the following week that I have to prepare for. Again, sorry for the wait.

MarialeBenitez – Thank you for liking my story. Yes, Kurama is interested in Botan. There will be a chapter about his thoughts after the next one.

tuathafaerie – Of course it's okay for you to think that. I had an idea of doing that actually. But it would freak Botan a little too much. You got anything for as an alternative? I would love to do something somewhere along the lines of it. And there is huge progression here. Hope you like it.

Crystal Koneko – Yes, Hiei is very possessive. Even more so in this chapter!

Botan Jaganshi- Hiei's Girl – Thank you. I'm very flattered. I like your stories too, but I am such a lazy butt because I don't review. I really should.

Dragon Tamer103088 – Well, this is what happens next… After I'm done with thanking the reviewers. Like you. Thank you!

Hiei's Ice Maiden – Yukina has ruby reds eyes too. And it isn't _that_ suspicious. Is it?

Heartluv – He didn't buy her anything… really. You'll see. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Priestess Rin – No offence, but you name is a dead give away to who you are. Thank you for reading. No there is no kidnapping here in this fic. I think.

Kitsune Kit – Is it really confusing? But thanks for loving it. And Kurama has his own chapter after the next one, just to let you know.

Silver Spell – Wow. You gave me the longest review for the chapter. I want to see that movie! But a last, I can't. One because I'm poor. Two because I have no time. Three because no one wants to see it with me! And thank you very much. Your compliment really touched me.

psychopyro16 – Why thank you very much. I just love HieiBotan fics.

Anime's-mistress – I really did try to update as fast as I can. Hopefully I'll be able to update again next week.

Ranerou Black – Thank you! Hope that you like this chapter too.

Tsuki Koorime – Thank you for reading my fic! The reason why she seems so submissive is because why you are courting with someone; you try to get the other person to like you. Hence Botan tries to get Hiei to like her. Hiei does the same thing too. but his way is more subtle. Plus, Botan's got a secret.

Runaway Kogoro – It's been a while since I saw your name on my review list. But thanks for reviewing. Hope you like this chapter.

botan's horse – I tried to update soon! But I just couldn't. Hope that I could update again next week.

BoTaN JaNaGaShI AKA.yukieitan – I love Hiei and Botan as a couple. And aren't they so cute together? Thank you for your compliment!

Daine-Weirynsra – Someone has been reading Tamora Pierce! I love her books and have most of them in my possession. And its Daine and Numair! I love them! Yes, books are friends, not food.

**Hostility Begins**

When she opened her eyes, she saw ruby red. And then she opened her mouth and screamed. He moved quickly. The sense of danger was ringing piercingly throughout his whole body.

But let's not jump ahead too quickly. Let's go back to a time where it was quieter. Like, thirty minutes ago. In the forest surrounding Genkai's house. And to a specific tree where a small figured clothed in black appeared out of no where. He checked who was inside the house first. Three females: one sleeping, one getting up, and the last wide awake and moving about.

Hiei surveyed the area before hoping down to the ground. He circled around the perimeter of the house, making a wide circle around it. After doing several rings, he stopped and smirked at his handed work. He would see if _he _would _dare _break that. He also hoped that Genkai wouldn't break it. He would have to make it clear that it would have to stay there.

For a while, he just stood there, thinking. She would be a perfect mate. Instinct told him to start putting his scent on her. The kitsune was after the onna after all. He needed to start marking her before a single dander of the kitsune's flies to her. He would be damn before she started smelling like Kurama. His instincts were growing more and more wild, and out of his control as each day passes. The time had to be soon.

Just a few more days. Maybe a week more. Maybe even a day or two after a week. But he knew that the day where he could officially mate her was coming fast.

With a swift glance around the vicinity, he leisurely went to the front door and went inside. There he found Yukina heading towards another room.

"Hiei, you're early," his sister greeted and went to hug him. She could feel a conflict tormenting inside her brother. He wrapped his arms around her unsure but not lightly. Hugging was not something that he was use to or exposed to.

"Are you going to stay for the whole day or just in the morning?" she asked after she let go.

"The whole day."

"Are you worried that someone will take her away from you?"

"Hn." He looked away from her searching eyes.

"Then I will go ask Genkai-san to not break what you've created. Why don't you go wake Botan-san? She usually wakes up around this time."

With a nod of his head, he went up the stairs. He didn't ask where Botan's room was located because he already knew. When he arrived at her door, he didn't even bother to knock. He just opened her door silently and stepped inside. She was still asleep. Hiei never saw an angel before, and he doubt that he ever will, but he was sure that angels looked similar to what he saw right now. She looked peaceful when she slept. Maybe when she's sleeping, she has good dreams. He mostly had nightmares.

Instinct whispered that she would bear strong kodomo.

He drove that thought down and instead wondered what she was dreaming about. No longer needing to take out his headband to use his Jagan, he opened his mind open into hers. What he saw in her mind surprised him. She was dreaming about fire. Each flame had its own unique style and detail. What kind of baka onna dreams about fire?

_One who is in courting with a fire demon,_ his instinct replied.

Hiei smirked, pleased.

Botan slowly woke from her deep sleep. Hiei, being too busy with his mental images of Botan's dream and his instincts providing him with even more, stronger mental images of Botan waiting to be taken on his bed, did not see or sense Botan waking up. He became engrossed with seeing her body lying across his bed, blue hair spread around wildly, legs tangled with the sheets in his mind's eyeShe was panting, waiting for him to come to her. His instincts gave a very detailed image of her. He watched her stomach rise with each breath she took. Beautiful shaped legs slowly being uncovered from beneath the sheets. Her eyes were dark and wanting. He could almost smell her.

When real life Botan opened her eyes, she was met with ruby red eyes staring at her. What she didn't notice was the far away look to those eyes. Or the slight smirk of pleasure on his lips. Nor did she notice whose eyes they belonged to. So she screamed.

Loudly.

Hiei snapped out of his thoughts and was greeted with Botan's pillow to his face. He moved away quickly after that. The sense of danger was ringing piercingly throughout his whole body. He may be a proud demon, but he had seen what the ferry girl could do when provoked.

"HENTAI!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and threw whatever was available at him. Books, the clock, picture frames, paper weights, her shoes, and the list went on. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM! YOU HENTAI!"

_How right she is. _

He got out of her room like she said and slammed the door shut. Then he growled. If they had been in Makai, he would teach her some manners to the one she was courting with. But alas, they weren't. She was too much like a ningen. Her being a ningen did also added to the problem. He knew that he couldn't change what she was, but maybe he could install some demonic traits into her. The training was part of that plan. So she would learn how to fight and not be just a simple, useless ningen.

He reached the stairs and then stopped. Why did he choose the baka onna of all people to court? She wasn't a demon.

_Because, she is the only female that considers you a friend that has no real blood relations to you. And you are attracted to her beauty._

Her beauty. He smiled. Yes, he was attracted to her beauty. But there was something more growing inside of him. Something that he never really felt before. But he wasn't ignorant to the type of emotion that he was feeling. He knew exactly what it was. It wasn't a strong feeling, and he didn't care if it grew or not. If it will, it will. If it doesn't, it doesn't. He acknowledged it and that was that.

When he arrived at the kitchen, Yukina and Genkai had just finished making breakfast.

"From the sounds of it, she must've been happy to see you," Genkai said with a smirk as she walked past him with a tray filled with food.

He growled at her retreating form.

"I hope that you didn't scare Botan-san too much," Yukina place a hand on her brother's arm.

"She'll get over it," he stopped glaring at Genkai's back upon feeling his sister's touch.

"Then for your sake, I hope that she gets over it soon. Kurama is near."

He growled once more. Of course he felt the kitsune coming. They both sensed him stop just outside the territorial scent marks that Hiei placed around the house. He didn't move. Kurama was most likely thinking of what to do next.

"You should apologize to her now. If Kurama ignores the marks and comes here, she will ignore you and pay full attention to him instead. She may even forget the dangers of what that act alone could do in her anger with you," Yukina said.

Hiei scowled. He apologized to no one but his sister. But if he wanted to be in the onna's good graces, he would have to swallow his pride. Stupid courting ritual. So he left his sister in the kitchen and proceeded to head to Botan's room again. He met her just as she opened the door of her room, fully dressed for the day. She glared at him. He glared back at her, still upset at having a pillow being thrown at his face.

Then he felt Kurama continue his walk to the house. Hiei's scowl deepened. The kitsune was brave.

"Don't look at me like that you pervert," Botan said, still glaring. "You are the one who went into my room without permission."

"Yukina said that I should go wake you up."

"But you didn't even try to wake me up!" she yelled. "You just stared at me like a pervert! You pervert!"

Kurama walked into the house.

Hiei grabbed Botan's arm to make her stop yelling. "Look, I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Now will you shut up!" It was a command, not a request.

She yanked her arm out from his grip and glared. "Fine!" Then she smoothed out invisible wrinkles out of her shirt. "You're forgiven," she said in a tone that clearly said that he really wasn't. She moved past him and then stopped. "You actually apologized." Her eyes widened. She spun around to face him. "Was that my gift?"

"What?"

"The apology. Was that my gift? Kurama said—"

Hiei's scowled at her. His glare looked like it could kill. He _wanted_ to kill. She wasn't making it any easier. By mentioning the kitsune's name alone, his hand went to his katana.

Botan swallowed hard. She was doing it again; speaking without thinking first. Her voice was caught in her throat. She couldn't tell him how sorry she was. His penetrating glare was preventing her from doing so.

Hiei closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. It would do him no good to yell at her. Not when the kitsune was beneath the same roof as they were. Kurama would hear him. He would instantly know that there was trouble with their courtship. Hiei slowly removed his hand from his katana, growled, and marched to the stairs.

Botan, realizing what was happening, ran to Hiei's descending form down the stairs. She tripped on the second step, but she managed to do what she had originally planned to do. She almost fell flat on her face if she hadn't grabbed Hiei's body from behind and embraced him in a hug. Hiei stopped, and would have fallen flat on his face if he wasn't a strong fighter or a demon. The most that he did was stagger forward a little on his step from the impact. He stiffened.

"I'm sorry," Botan whispered. Her voice sincere. "I'm really sorry." She tightened her arms around him and buried her face on his back. "I never meant it in that way. I'm so sorry. Please… forgive me."

They stayed in that position for a while. Botan's face hidden on Hiei's back, Hiei looking down at nothing. His face eased away from his scowl. Neither of them moved. Neither of them wanting to move. Finally, Hiei relaxed his body.

"Let's go onna. Yukina will be worried if we're not there soon," His voice was calm.

"Hai," Botan reluctantly let go of him. Hiei immediately felt cold where Botan's warm body had held him. He told himself that it didn't have any effect on him. That he was use to the cold. He knew that he was lying.

They went into the dining room, side by side. A comfortable silent followed them. But when Hiei saw Kurama, sitting down and waiting to eat, the aura around him changed. His scowl was back. Botan looked at Hiei's face and then to Kurama, seeing the reason for Hiei's sudden change of moods. The usual morning greetings were exchanged. Hiei never took his eyes away from Kurama. Kurama wisely chose not to meet Hiei's glaring face.

Hiei sat in front of Kurama. His eyes telling the other demon to not even think of trying anything. Botan sat to Hiei's left. Yukina sat to Kurama's left and Genkai at the head of the table. The silence was uncomfortable. Botan fidgeted in her sit.

"Well?" Genkai said breaking the silence. "What are you all waiting for? Eat or I'll eat it all for you."

"Itadakimasu!" They all muttered expect for Yukina and Genkai.

Breakfast was mostly eaten in silence. Botan, who usually talked like there was no tomorrow, kept silent to not anger Hiei. She was afraid to offend him. She had already done it once and had no intension of doing it again. Yukina made small talk with her brother. Though it was mostly a one sided conversation. Every time Kurama would open his mouth to speak, Hiei would glare at him, making Kurama shut his mouth. And Genkai just seemed lost in her own thoughts, calmly eating whatever was on her plate.

Hiei constantly had at least one of his eyes on Kurama, watching his every move like a hawk. He was waiting for an excuse to attack the competition.

_First offense, kitsune._

Traditional demon courting allowed an intruding demon that attempts to disrupt the courtship after the first week, two free offenses, which comes with warning and death threats only. The offenses had to be small though. After the second offense, warnings were put to a stop and nothing but spilled blood would then be demanded in compensation for the offense.

After Botan swallowed the last bit of her rice, and having already finished with his meal a while ago, Hiei grabbed her hand, forced her to stand up, and ran out the door while Botan made a hasty goodbye.

After the first few steps of running, Botan started to complain. "Hiei! Slow down!" Pant. "I can't run." Pant. "Right after." Pant. "I eat." Pant. "My stomach hurts!"

Without missing a beat, Hiei lifted her to his back and ran faster. Because Botan's body was much larger than Hiei's, she wrapped her legs around his waist for a better support and her arms went around his neck. She tried to hold on mainly with her legs so that she wouldn't choke him. Running past brushes and low branches, Hiei held on to her legs and jumped high into the air. When he land, he jumped again, but this time he jumped horizontally. It was almost like he was flying parallel to the ground.

The warmth of her body pressing against his returned. He unconsciously held on to her tighter. When he noticed, he tried to tell himself that it was only so she wouldn't fall off.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Hiei reluctantly let go of her. His body immediately missed her warmth. Botan looked around her surroundings with awe. All around them were beautiful flowers, tall trees that provided cool shades and a small waterfall in the middle of it all that emptied itself into a miniature lake. Sunlight poured downs its rays around the area, giving it a golden look and heavenly feel. The place was like a miniature forest heaven.

"Wow, this place is beautiful. Where are we?" she asked, still amazed by the wonders of the place. She went in circles trying to see everything at once.

"Approximately 300 miles away from Genkai's temple," Hiei smirked proudly.

That stopped her dead in her tracts. "What! How? We were running (well you were the one running) for about ten minutes!"

"We were actually traveling for six minutes."

_Getting cocky. _

Hiei smirked at his instinct. He had every right to be cocky. He was, if not one, then _the _best. He watched her shocked expression turn from shock to awe. He continued to watch her as she dropped her gaze, most likely not knowing what to say next. Her eyes wondered until they spotted a rabbit. Wanting to pet it (and not caring if it has rabies), she walked slowly up to it. She was interesting to watch. Her emotions changed so quickly in a short amount of time that he was fascinated and disturbed by it at the same time.

When the rabbit jumped away, Botan waved at it in farewell. She turned back to him. "This place is lovely. How did you find it?"

He pointed to his hidden Jagan eye.

"I guess I should have figured," she said. "But why this place? It doesn't seem like… the type of place that you would normally go to or look for."

"Why do you think onna?" he asked as if pointing out the obvious.

He watched she forehead wrinkled into a frown. "And what's that suppose to mean?"

"That maybe you should know," he baited her.

"Well excuse me for not knowing!" she yelled. Her emotion changing from happy to confuse and now anger. She was definitely interesting to watch. It was getting dull being around demons who only thought about themselves. Most worried if they would live to see the next day.

"It was close."

"You picked this place because it was close?" her eyebrows knitted together in disbelief. "But it's 300 miles away from where we were this morning!"

"It was close," he repeated, drawing out patience that he reserved for occasions like this whenever he was around her.

"And close to you means?" One of her eye brows rose. It intrigued him how her face would change to match what she was feeling. Each creasing of her face skin, the eyebrows rising, the twitch of the mouth, all had a specific purpose of showing multitudes of emotion.

"Anywhere in this country."

Her mouth opened up in the shape of an O.

To Hiei, it was simple. To impress the one that he was courting, all he had to do was use the same tactics that his competition would use but he would make it even better. Kurama would have brought Botan to a place similar to this place. All Hiei had to do was find a place filled with flowers and other plants that also had a feeling of pure tranquilly and without any annoying ningens to bother them. What made the place even better was the fact the soil was perfect for the gift that he found for her.

When her back was turned to him, Hiei went to a nearby tree and unearth a flower that was rooted there. He put it in his pocket. Then he went back to watching her. She was watching him as well. He took a few steps toward her.

"It was for you."

"What?"

"This place."

She smiled.

_It was for you._

They arrived back at Genkai's hours after it became dark. They spent the day in the forest far from the temple. Mostly Botan played with the forest creatures while Hiei watched her. When she got bored, they took a walk. Botan tried to stay quiet for Hiei, but that didn't last very long. Whenever she saw a cute little animal running by, she would squeak with excitement. Hiei didn't seem to mind _too_ much. It became annoying hearing it for more than three times in less than five minutes. Patience was one thing that Hiei was rapidly running out of.

Botan's stomach grumbled as she was dropped off from Hiei's back. "I guess that I should pack lunches if we're to do this again tomorrow then."

"Hn."

"Aren't you hungry?"

"No."

"Well, do you want to come inside? I'm sure that Yukina left something for us to eat. I'm starving. I didn't even get to eat lunch! Not that I'm saying that I didn't like the trip. I loved it! I'm just a little upset that we didn't get to eat lunch! And I still can't believe that we completely lost track of time! I didn't even notice that it was getting dark until you pointed it out to me!"

"You talk too much onna."

She glared at him. "Well I have to talk enough for the both of us."

"Hn."

"So, are you going to come inside and eat or not?"

Hiei reached inside his pocket and took out a flower. What made Botan look at it curiously was that it hasn't even bloomed yet. She could clearly see the yellow petals that have yet to open up, enclosing the sweet buds that were inside.

"This is for you."

"Nani?" she asked shocked and in disbelief.

"It's called an Aysel. It only blooms in the moonlight."

"Oh. That makes sense. Aysel is a person's name that means moonlight in Turkish. But will it still bloom even though it's been unearthed?"

"Yes."

"That's amazing. Do I have to put it back in some soil or water?"

"Soil."

"Wow."

"Are you going to take it or not?" he said impatiently.

Botan blushed in embarrassment. She quickly took the flower from him and mumbled an apology and a thank you at the same time. Then she snapped her fingers after remembering something. "Wait here."

She swiftly went inside. While she was gone, Hiei scanned the area. Kurama wasn't there. He had left a long time ago. Most likely an hour or two after they left. He was being smart by not being there when they got back. Hiei narrowed his eyes. Kurama would be back tomorrow though.

_He'll regret it._

Botan came back out and handed him a small box.

"I bought this yesterday. It reminded meof you," she smiled anxiously. Obviously wanting him to open it.

He took out the top part of the box. Inside he saw something inside it shine, reflecting the dim lights that surround them. He took it out and found that it fit into the palm of his hand. It was a crystal dragon. He briefly wondered she if she knew what she had truly given him. Then he discarded the thought. He'll tell her later. It'll be worth it to see the stun expression on her face.

Looking up at her, he gave her his first real smile in gratitude.

* * *

AN: Hiei's gift to Botan will have its own chapter. About two or three chapters from now. Anyone got an good ideas for gifts? And I edited some parts in the last chapter.


	9. My father gave me a name

AN: Yay! I updated the following week like I said I would! Go me! Anway, here's some things that you need to know.

1. I will not update again until 2 or 3 more weeks later. Why? Because school demands that I pay attention for once in my life.

2. The crystal dargon is **not **made Hirui stones. You will find out what itis at the last chapter. And believe me, the idea kind of freaked me out when I first thought of it. But it was too cool to pass up on.

3. Hiei would **never **give up his mother's tear gem to **anyone**. I doubt that he would even give it to Yukina. But he would give up his own tearm gem. That's not until later chapters if the bad thing between... Opps! Said too much already.

4. I'm glad that most of you think that Hiei and Botan are in character. I tried my best to keep them that way. But they little be a tad OOC just for the story's sake.

5. Hiei will get more possesive. He's a loner and fears rejection. I think that he has every right to be possesive.

6. I'm trying to get Konema and Mukuro back into the story and plot too. It would makethings more interesting.

**My father gave me a name**

"What?" he asked, but his tone of voice was more of a command than a question.

"Nothing," she said hastily and looked down. A light blush appeared on her face. She had wanted to ask a question, but completely forgot about it when he looked her.

"Hn."

The late morning light was scattered around them because of the leaves that block it from a giant tree that they were under. Hiei had once again arrived at Genkai's in that morning, wanting to spend the whole day with Botan instead of just the afternoon. Although she didn't ask, Botan suspected that the reason he came so early was because Hiei didn't want her to spend time with Kurama. She didn't know what kind of message or whatever of the likes went on between the two, all she knew was that Kurama never came in the morning like he usually did.

Botan was a bit dismayed by it because she was so use to seeing him in the morning. But having Hiei there early made up for it. Maybe even more so.

Her heart started beating a little faster. She brought her hand to where her heart was and could feel it pulsing inside her. Botan snuck a glance at Hiei. As usual, he was leaning on the biggest tree in the area and looked to be sleeping. His breathing seemed even, but she doubted that he was actually asleep. She felt her heart rate continue its rapid pace. Her glance at him turned into a full stare. Questions started popping into her mind, but all her mouth could do was open slightly. Nothing came out.

She was glad that nothing did come out. She wanted to continue on watching him. His facial expression was so different from when he was awake. It was more relax and carefree. She suddenly got the inspiration to make him smile. Her eyes lit up with glee at the thought of her new task for today. Last night's smile that he gave made her heart soar. She always knew that he was a really nice guy underneath that entire cold exterior that he liked to show. Maybe she could even try to make him laugh.

"What," he said again. This time there was no question in his voice. Just a demand. He half opened his eyes to look at her.

Noticing that she was unknowingly moving towards him while she was thinking, and losing the motivation to wanting make him smile, she blushed heavily. She was just a few inches away from him from her five feet distance before.

"Nothing. It's really nothing," she said with her innocent kitty cat face and voice, hoping that he wouldn't see her flushed face.

He stared at her for a second before closing his eyes again. "If you're going to say something, than say it. It's quite disturbing, even to me, to have you quiet for such a long period of time."

An offend expression replaced her blushing face. "Why don't you talk to ease the unnerving silence, if you're so disturbed by it? Say something that's in your mind. Wait, you probably have gruesome thoughts running around your head. So say something that's more positive. Like happy thoughts. Everyone likes to hear happy thoughts. Nothing can go wrong with happy thoughts!" Her lips formed a bright smile throughout her small speech.

Hiei opened his left eye to really look at her. That bright smile never left her face. She was waiting to hear to whatever happy comment that he would make.

"You are a baka onna." And then he closed his eye again.

"That's not a happy thought Hiei," she said disapprovingly.

"Just because it's not happy for you doesn't mean it isn't happy for me," a slight smirk was on his lips.

"You're definition of happy worries me."

"And you're definition of happy is too happy," he opened both of his eyes. "That's why you're the baka onna."

Botan folded her arms across her chest and made a small glare while pouting at the same time. "You're making fun of me again."

"Isn't it better than me staying silent?" he said, referring to her implement.

This made her really look at him. Then it dawned upon her. Hiei was teasing her. Hiei never teases for the mere fun of it. And yet, here he was. Teasing her. Making her blush. Making her heart rate pick up speed. It was almost as if he was flirting with her. _Almost._ Is this what demon courting did to demons like Hiei? Making them act like ningens boys trying to get a date with any girl them could? Okay, so maybe that thought was a little too extreme, but it still doesn't change the fact that Hiei's attitude has changed.

Not wanting to disrupt the atmosphere that they created she answered, "I don't know. Sometimes you're silence can be calming."

"You just contradicted what yourself," he smirked fully instead of half. "You really are a baka onna."

Seeing that Botan was at a lost at what to say, Hiei closed his eyes again, enjoying the sweet taste of victory.

But Botan's mind was on the courting. Demon courting. Did emotions change and grow so quickly when demons court? She felt something inside her grow. She wasn't sure what to do about those feelings. She never felt something like it before. What was it about the demon courting and Hiei that made her feel like this? She knew that they haven't even started the real tradition of demons courting yet. That involved a lot of touching and close contact. Traditionally, they were supposed to start that yesterday or even earlier than that. But with her being a ferry girl and not demon, Hiei was most likely trying to get her use to the idea first to not upset her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. Since he is showing such patience and leniency with her, then maybe she should give something to him. Something personal that she never told anyone before.

"Hiei?" she took Hiei's only free hand that was on his lap into hers. His other arm was used as a pillow for his head.

Hiei's eyes snapped open when he felt his hand being touched by hers. He looked down at her hands covering his own and then to Botan's face. His face was blank.

"Hiei, I want to tell you something. Please don't interrupt me while I tell you this story because I've never told anyone else this before. Plus I thought since I know a lot about your past, I could tell you mine. Is that okay with you?" she looked into his eyes.

Hiei nodded his head.

She squeezed his hand. "I was born about 600 ningen years ago. My family was farmers. So we had little money and barely enough food for us all since there were many battles near where we lived. My father… he died a day before I was born. He had gone to a nearby town to buy food and he was caught in a fight when a small army started fighting against each other. They couldn't distinguish that my father wasn't a part of the army. They most likely didn't see his dirty, torn clothes as he ran too save his life and to bring food to his family. My older brother found his corpus the next day, when he was looking for firewood. My father's blood was still warm. Still wet.

When Hiroshi, my older brother, came back to tell my mother, she was already in labor. Hiroshi couldn't run to town to find a midwife, he was too scared that he would die like father. He was only seven at the time. Seeing mother in pain, calling for her husband, and seeing that same person that his mother was calling for was dead, he broke down and cried. He started screaming that father is dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. That was all he could say. He banged on the floor with his fists, kicked his legs wildly, and screamed. That's when she noticed the blood on him. Blood was covering all of his clothes and skin. The smell must have sickened her. He didn't look like her son when he cried, covered with blood. That site practically killed my mother then and there."

Tears were coming down Botan's eyes now. She squeezed Hiei's hand tighter. Hiei just sat there, listening. That's what she asked him to do. He didn't wipe away her tears and told her that didn't have to continue. It wasn't his style. Besides, it looked like she needed to do this. So he let her cry. He let her make small hiccups while she remembered her past. He let the pain that he felt at the site of her crying throb within him while he kept a cool expression. Pain was nothing new to him.

When she finally calmed down a bit, she continued on with her story, all the while holding on to Hiei's hand.

"Days before my father died, he told my mother the name that he wanted to name the child, me. Knowing that he had already decided with a name, my mother named me what my father wanted when I was born. She died about two years later. She never recovered from the labor and her heart was broken on that day. The only reason why she was still alive was because of Hiroshi and me. But then, I guess her strength must have died out. It must have been too much for her."

She looked down and wiped away some of her tears before placing hand back on top of his. She took several deep breathes.

"From then on, Hiroshi raised me. Told me stories of mother and father. Brought food and clothes for me. Made me smile when I was sad. Did all the things that a good older brother would do to raise his younger sister without parents. I was happy with him. But after a time, I started to notice that he was always sad. Whenever he looked at me, I saw this sadness that wouldn't go away. At first I thought that it was because he missed mother and father as much as I did, though I never really knew them. I tired everything I could think up to make that sadness go away. Nothing worked. When I was six and Hiroshi was thirteen, he decided that I was strong enough to travel. So we started traveling for several weeks, until we found a small village. We stayed there for a couple of years. Hiroshi worked under a blacksmith and I stayed with a healer.

We didn't see each other very often after that. I went to see him as often as I could. But he was always busy. Many times he even ignored me."

**Flashback**

"_Oni-chan!" a little girl called out to the boy._

_He didn't look up. He just banged on the sword that he making. The summer heat and the forge fire made his bulky arms glisten with sweat._

_**Bang!**_

"_Oni-chan! Come play with me!" the little girl tried again. she wanted to play with her brother like they used to._

_**Bang! Bang!**_

_He didn't look up. He was too focused on his work. The little girl put his hands on his arms and shook him._

"_Oni-chan!"_

_The boy shook his arm violently. _

"_I'm busy! Go away."_

_The little girl fell to the floor. Her new kimono that she'd been saving money for weeks became dirty. She wanted her older brother to see it. She watched him continue with his work like she wasn't even there. Like she never tried to interrupt him. The little girl turned around and walked away. Listening to the banging of her brother's work._

_**Bang! Bang! Bang!**_

**End Flashback**

**-**

"I didn't understand why he ignored me when I tried to get his attention. But that never stopped me. He was my brother after all, and I loved him. I made sure that I was never in his way and whichever girl he had some interest in; I always told good things about him to them. When I was about ten, I finally realized why he always had a pained look in his eyes and why he tired to avoid me as much as possible. I didn't recognize it when I was younger, but now I knew. I saw blame in his eyes. He blamed me. My older brother blamed me for our parents' death. My birth was the reason for mother's death. I was the reason why father went into town to buy food, because I was supposed to be born soon."

A sob escaped from her lips. "After that, I did my best to stay away from him. He obviously did not know what to do with the feelings that he had against me and did the only thing that he knew how to deal with it. I didn't want to be a burden to him anymore. Even though he blamed me, he took such good care of me. It must have been hard on him, raising me only because he felt that he had to do it in our parent's stead. After that, I watched him from afar. He looked happier. Freer. I was happy just watching him _be_ happy. But it also pained me that I was the reason for his sadness. By the time I was fourteen, Hiroshi found someone to marry. Maybe it was guilt, I don't know, I never asked, but he wanted me to go with him to meet his wife's parents in another village. I saw so happy. I immediately said yes."

Botan's eyes darkened. "Hiroshi's wife was really nice, but she acted awkward towards me. I guess that she never knew that I was Hiroshi's younger sister. I didn't think that he told her that he had a sister until he announced that I was to go with them. But she was really nice nonetheless. While we were walking, she told me that she was pregnant with Hiroshi's child. I was so shocked, yet happy at the same time for them. Right after that, bandits attacked. The bandits were drunk, but still much stronger than we were. From the smell and look of their clothes and weapons, they had killed another group of people before the saw us.

Hiroshi couldn't protect his wife and sister at the same time; he chose to protect his wife and child while I defended myself. Even though he was a blacksmith, Hiroshi wasn't a fighter, and couldn't land a punch to save his life. I lasted less than five minutes before I died. Hiroshi was beaten up badly, his wife remained unharmed. Lucky for them, a kind samurai came and rescued them after I died. They left my body where I was stabbed. Days later, some traveler took pity on my body and so burned it and buried my ashes under a tree."

Botan started crying silently. Remembering the past had hurt her, but it did not overwhelm her. Time had healed most of the hurt. Her past wasn't traumatizing or as tragic like Hiei's, but he could sympathize. Again, Hiei let her cry. She wasn't some baby that needed to be cuddled every time she cried. Botan was stronger than she looked. That's why he left her on her own.

When the last of tears stopped running down her cheeks, she was silent. Her hands were still covering his. She took strength in his calmness and his reassuring squeeze. The two just sat there, lost in their own thoughts about the past. The morning light had gone, giving away to the afternoon yellow light and cool breeze. For another hour or so, they sat, enjoying the rare silence and presence of the other. The lunch that Yukina had made and Kuwabara wanted to take with him to school, laid forgotten at the other side of the tree.

Finally, and surprisingly, Hiei broke the silence. "Hn. No wonder why you wanted me to tell Yukina that I was her brother so badly."

"Hai," Botan said softly.

A soft breeze played with Botan's hair, leaving a strand on her face. Hiei reached out with his free hand and gently moved it away. Botan looked down and blushed. Without removing his hand from her face, he lightly caressed her face as he moved downward to her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. A light blush was on her face.

"What was your name?" he lightly asked all the while moving his head closer to hers.

Now Botan really did blush. Partly because of the close proximity of Hiei's face with hers, and getting closer, and because of… well… her answer.

"Ano… my name was… Aoshi."

Hiei's head stopped moving forward. He blinked. Botan would have looked down if it wasn't for Hiei's hand on her chin. So she was forced to watch the amusement mixed with disbelief in Hiei's eyes. And to her horror, he chuckled, which turned into a full out amused laughter. He took out his hand from underneath her chin and laughed. Botan's face turned beat red in embarrassment, and she put her hands to her face. Hiei continued on laughing.

Watching him laugh at her original name, her embarrassment turned to anger. "Stop laughing!" she summoned her metal bat and was ready to swing at him when he didn't stop. "I SAID, STOP LAUGHING!"

Hiei disappeared before her bat landed on the spot that he was sitting from before. She swung again at him from behind her, only to have him move to her right. Before she could swing her bat at him once more, he took the metal bat away from her and chuckled. Botan fumed.

"Would you quit laughing already!"

"Why would your mother name you Aoshi?" a playful smirk was on his lips.

"It's like I said, my father wanted that name for his next child. He wanted that child to be a boy. So he picked a boy name. And since I didn't turn out to be a boy, my mother named me Aoshi anyway, for my father. She didn't really care that I wasn't a boy just that my name had to be Aoshi." She glared him. "If you tell anyone, especially Yusuke that my real name is Aoshi, then I'll kill you."

Hiei snorted. "Hn. I won't tell."

Then his amused expression was gone. His head snapped to the right, where some leaves fell and the grass moved slightly.

"Is there something wrong Hiei?" Botan asked confused with Hiei's change of moods.

Hie eyes narrowed a little. "Hn. It was nothing. I'll take care of it later."

For Alex:

**Ohayou-gozaimasu** - Good morning. Short: Ohayou

**Konnichiwa** - Good day, hello

**Konbanwa** - Good evening

**Oyasumi-nasai** - Good night. Normally used before going to bed. Short: Oyasumi

**Sayonara** – Goodbye

**Arigatou-gozaimasu** - Thank you. Short: Arigatou

**Sumimasen** - Sorry, excuse me

**Gomen-nasai** - Sorry, excuse me. Short: Gomen

**San** - Mr/Mrs/Miss, honorific for someone of status equal to yourself. Is to be added at the end of the name

**Chan** - Honorific for someone of status lower to yourself, and term of endearment for family and friends. Used mostly for females and is very informal. Is to be added at the end of the name

**Kun** – Mr. (junior), master, boy. Similar to chan, but mostly applied to males. Is to be added at the end of the name.

**Sama** - Honorific for someone of status higher to yourself. Is to be added at the end of the name.

**Hai** - Yes.

**Iie** - No.

**Kaimono** – Shopping

**Baka** - Stupid.

**Onna – **woman

**Itadakimasu** - Said before meals. I am about to partake.

**Gochisosama deshita** - Said after meals, especially if being treated.

**Damare** - Shut up!

**Shizuka ni** - Be quiet!

**Oni-chan** – Big brother (I think that that's the spelling)

**Nani** – What


	10. Kurama

AN: I'm am so sorry that I haven't updated sooner. It's been almost a month since I last updated. But the good news is that the next chapter will be soon. Maybe by Friday even! So yay to that. I really like how this is coming up, though I wish it'd be better. Gald that people enjoy this story.

Kurama is a little more than alittle OOC.

_"Yoko Kurama"  
_**"Shuichi"**

P.S. **Kitsune Kit **- Aoshi is a guy's name. I don't know what it means.

**Kurama**

Early morning light shined through the windows of Minamino Shuichi. Outside the air was crisp and cool. Adults and teenagers opened widows to enjoy the morning and appreciate the calmness before heading off to their full and busy lives. Birds chirped merrily and flew with enthusiasm. Dogs barked blithely and walked with their owners who jogged to keep pace with them. Cats stretched and yawned. Inside, Kurama lied on his bed, dressed for the day. He awoke with the break of dawn as he usually did, and could not fall back to the peacefulness of his dreams.

Sometimes he cursed himself for being a demon.

* * *

Never before had I understood how some people could just look at the ceiling for hours on end. It seemed pure pointless to me. Yusuke quickly comes to mind. Now I understood. The ceiling is the perfect place for thinking about thoughts that one could not find the answers to and thoughts that one would rather not think about. Hiei comes to mind.

_Just a little slip of something sharp and shiny and things could be different._

I frowned at the ceiling. I've stared so hard at the white ceiling that I'm surprised that it hasn't turned a different color by now. Downstairs, I can hear mother starting to cook breakfast, father talking softly to her, and little brother stirring from his sleep across the hall. They are my family. I protect them. I love them. They love me in return. I would do anything for them, especially mother. She is the reason why I'm alive. Why I am still here. Her love for me and my love for her was what kept me here and not running around Makai stealing priceless items that I had no real use for.

But there are secrets that she must never know. I fear that she would not understand and be so willing to accept.

_If I didn't know any better, I'd say that your "love" for your mother was unhealthy. _

Yoko Kurama snorted.

I frowned. I do love my mother as a son would. For years, it was her. It was always been about her. Everything I did was to make her smile. To make her happy. I dedicated my life to be the perfect son for her. She was the only person that I needed. And I thought that I was the only one that she needed. Until my step-father came. He whisked her off her feet and made her happy in a way that I could never do. At first I was insulted by him for coming into our lives when we were perfectly fine and made it even better. It made me angry that I had to share mother's love with him. He was ningen. I could have killed him easily and made it look like an accident. Or suicide.

But after a while, I accepted him and the little brother that had come with him. That boy who bore the same human name that I do.

And then he came. He reacquainted me with the life that I had previously had. The life that Yoko Kurama was notorious for. He made me remember the things that I'd, _he'd, _loved to do. And I have to admit, I did greatly miss the profession that I had abandon for my human mother. But Yoko Kurama and Minamino Shuichi are two different people. Kurama is the demon and Shuichi is the human. Even with this truth, I am the one in dominance.

And for a while, I thought myself to be in love.

Hiei was dark, strong, and didn't care what ever path I chose. He was small, but fast. Arrogant but not stupid. He was a demon in every way and had a code that he stood by. I was fascinated by him. His wants, his desires, his need to become strong and superior and sometimes had a cantankerous attitude. His blood red eyes were always cold and kept everyone around him at distance. Hidden power lay dormant underneath his skin. He was a child that was not supposed to exist. For a while, I thought that I could not love another person as I loved him. He fascinated me. Made me second guess myself. When I thought that I knew all there was to him, what he was like, he always did something to make me rethink everything about him.

_Your obsession with him made me sick. Now, can you stop reminiscing about him and start thinking about someone else? Someone more feminine? _

**I suppose that it was an obsession. A fixation if you will. **

_You were obsessed. Lust if you will._

**But I was good at hiding my feelings.**

_Your obsession._

**You will please stop that. Sometimes I feel insane talking to you.**

Yoko Kurama didn't response.

Botan was special. I was attracted to her the first moment I saw her. She had the loveliest eyes that changed from pink to purple and showed whatever emotion she tries to hide. I loved her cheerfulness whenever the team was down or depressed. The way that she was always loyal to her friends and did anything that she could to help. Her eagerness and even her useless gadgets that never seemed to work. Even if at times she would just be in the way, her heart was always in the right place. What captivated me the most was her innocence. Her pure heart. Death was probably the best thing that happened to her.

It gave me the chance to meet her.

My thoughts gradually shifted from Hiei to Botan. My heart, solely devoted to my mother, split to be with her. Not even Hiei made me feel the way I felt about her. There was competition for her heart, I knew. At first, it seemed like Yusuke might capture her heart. And then Kuwabara developed an enormous crush on her because of her beauty. But both had fallen in love with another. So that left Koenma.

_The stupid baby king._

**He is her best friend. **

_He was competition!_

**It doesn't matter now if he was competition or not.**

We both fell into silence. Something unexpected happened. How would we know that Hiei would one day also want her? And that he'd get the chance of asking to court her? Botan was the last person on the list of people that Hiei would likely have any kind of romantic feelings for. Ever. They are complete opposites. Hiei despises people like Botan. He was irascible where Botan was carefree. Botan even seemed to be afraid of Hiei. The person that he should be courting should have been Mukuro. Not Botan.

I felt my eyes turn golden. Sighing, I closed my eyes and shook my head. Thinking about their courtship makes me angry. I tried to relax when I realized that I had clenched my fist. My body feels as if I was about to fight, even though I'm still lying on my bed. Again, I tried to relax and end up succeeding this time. I looked out the window to see children going out of their homes to go to school.

**You're skipping school again.**

I didn't answer him. Not wanting to go to class, I left home later than I normally did. Mother looked at me worriedly, but I assured her that everything was fine. After hours of walking around the city, I found myself walking the familiar steps to Genkai's temple once again.

**You're never going to get anywhere in life if you continue to skip school.**

_Why do you care if I'm not at school? You hated it. Besides, the professors don't really care if I'm in there or not. Just as long as I pass, I'll be fine._

I reached the top of the stairs and stopped. The very air smelled of Hiei's warning to me. He knew that I saw them yesterday. It was only for a moment. To me, it felt like a moment. I didn't stay there too long. I was never looking for them in the first place. I was just walking around, not wanting to go to school then either. Didn't want to go to class much these days. I just wanted to find a clearing where no one would be there to bother me while I thought. About her. And him. Together. And then I saw them. And left as soon as I knew that he had caught wind of me.

They were smiling.

Becoming close.

And I hated it. _We _hated it.

And so, without another thought, I paid no attention to Hiei's markings and continued on to the temple. Only Yukina and Genkai were there. I don't want to think about Botan with Hiei. Together. Alone.

Ironically, I'm here of all places.

"Hello Kurama," Yukina greeted me with a soft smile as always. But there was something in her eyes that she didn't even bother to hide. It caught me off guard for a moment, but it was to be expected. It should have been expected. I was a fool to think that she wouldn't have this type of reaction to my presence. But any thoughts of the sweet natured Yukina being hostile was as foreign and absurd as the thought as Hiei and Botan having any kind of romantic feelings for each other.

And yet, they were somewhere in some unknown place developing feelings for one another. Probably they already do have feelings for each other.

And here Yukina was, flashing me a warning look for her brother's stead. One complete with the barest of glares that one could have while smiling good naturally. There was no mistake that the two really are twins.

She didn't invite me in. I went inside anyway.

For the first time, the company of Yukina was extremely uncomfortable. Her expression became impassive and her eyes regarded me with serious thought. How much of a threat was I to Hiei? I didn't give her the pleasure of fidgeting or acting tense. My body movements were swift, my attitude was affable as I could be, and my voice level calm while I spoke of things that were as unimportant as dust. Her response was few, just like her brother's. She never offered me tea. Not that I would have drank it if she had anyway.

As kind hearted as Yukina is, she is still a demon. Sometimes I think that Yusuke and the others often forget. I was, or am, intruding on his courtship with Botan. And as a demon and sister to Hiei, she would stop me from any further intrusion by any means. True that her race reproduces asexually, but Hiei couldn't. So it all came back to being who we are. Demons. In the end, our demonic nature will break through our human traits that we acquire for our friends' sake. To never let them forget who we truly are. Yukina wouldn't kill me. That much is certain. She's still too kind hearted for that. She would keep me away from Hiei and Botan for as long as she could. And she would poison me. She can't fight me. Yukina is not the fight type. She'd lose if she tries anyway.

Yukina's manner was so unusual that even Genkai looked at her curiously. Though she never said anything. Most likely came to the conclusion that I had something to do with it. I declined her offer of tea. Yukina would have free access to it.

After about two hours that dragged, Kuwabara-kun came. His presence made Yukina relax a little bit. But even Kuwabara-kun noticed Yukina's change of mood.

"Yukina-chan, are you alright? You seem a bit tense. Are you sick?" Kuwabara-kun's voice rose and was thick with worry. He got to her side and put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

_Baka ningen. What good will that do? She's an ice apparition. Her normal body temperature would be lower than any ningen's._

"Really Kazuma. I'm okay. You don't have to worry about my health. But thank you for your concern," Yukina told him softly.

"But you don't seem yourself!" Kuwabara-kun said. "So you must be sick!"

"Iie. I'm not sick. Just a bad day," she smiled at him. "But I'm glad that you are here."

I didn't hear Kuwabara-kun's response. Another voice in my head caught my attention.

_**Kitsune. Outside.**_

Getting up, I went out of the room without Kuwabara-kun's notice. Whether Yukina did or not, I wouldn't know. I didn't bother to check to see if she did. I went out of the house from the back. There was more room to move freely there. When I saw Hiei, I pulled a rose from my hair. He was alone. I cast out my senses for Botan. She wasn't anywhere near here. That was to be expected. Deep down, I had hoped that I would see even a glimpse of her. Even just her bright blue hair swinging away. Anything to get the burning image of her and Hiei together out of my head.

Hiei disappeared from where he was standing. I spun my Rose Whip in a fast full circle. It cracked in the air. Hiei came at me from the top. I averted to the left and snapped my whip at him while I did so. He disappeared before it even reached him. I followed him into the forest and threw a seed at him. He burned it out with his fire and vanished. Quickly, I did another full circle with my whip. It hit nothing but air. I checked my surroundings. I sensed nothing. I couldn't find him.

_Impressive._

I had to agree. It was like he just left. But Hiei would never do that. Not during a fight. He wasn't a coward and this fight was more than about his honor. I ran deeper into the forest finding nothing of any evidence that he was there. Feeling someone come at me from my right, I saw Hiei's fist heading directly towards my face. I barely had time to block. With my arms protecting my head from Hiei's punch, I slid on my feet for a couple of feet. Before I stopped, everything went dark.

It was a pull. More than just an attraction. A force that made me want to see her. Be near her. To see her smile. To hear her laugh. To feel her warm presence next to me. To have her shadow touch mine. To drown in her sparkling eyes. I fell in love. That's why I didn't stay away. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to stay away from her. I fell in love with Botan. I had hoped that she felt something for me too. I thought that she did. Wishful thinking.

And wishful thinking is for fools.

* * *

When Kurama woke, it was dark. He was lying in the same place that he fell and blacked out. Hiei never moved him. Despite his loss, he smiled when he remembered Hiei's first swift punch followed by another that he didn't even see. From behind. Yes. Hiei was getting stronger. He touched his soft, slightly swollen spot behind his head, smiling bitterly. How much stronger? Kurama was almost afraid to find out. Somehow, he had the feeling that Hiei's power either rivaled or surpassed that of Mukuro's. Even his.

Turning his hands into fist, he brought them to the ground fiercely. Punching the ground, releasing his bitterness and anger, his eyes turned golden. His unnatural beautiful red hair threatened to change into a shocking white. Letting out a roar of rage and agony, he slammed his fists onto the ground for a final powerful **_bang!_**

He stared at the ground, not seeing it. All he saw was Botan. With Hiei. Together. That image burned into his sulk. Into his mind. Always there. No matter how much he screamed for it to go away. No matter how much he pounded his head on the unforgiving cold, hard earth to make it disappear. His forehead bruised, and then bleed. He slammed his head down harder. It still wouldn't go away. That haunting image. He slammed harder. A deep dent in the earth was formed. Blood went down to his nose, his lips, and still he hit his head.

With the last of his energy, Kurama collapsed to the ground and cried.


	11. The Gift

AN: So I updated the day that I hoped I would. This chapter is really short, but to the point. I think. But what this really is a sort of side story for the gift that Hiei gave Botan.

Now, to clear things up, **Kurama** at first thought that he loved Hiei. But when he met Botan, he truly fell in love with her. And the reason why he seemed like he was a little insane was because he was a little OOC and he is deeply in love with Botan. But his feelings are one-sided. Botan doesn't know about his feelings. You won't be seeing him for the next few chapters. I'm actually surprised that no one said a thing about Yukina's change of personality.

This is slightly AU because in this fic, **Koenma** likes/loves Botan, not Ayame. I think I can try to squeeze her in this fic too. Koenma will make an appearance in the next chapter. He's also kind of important for the plot.

* * *

**The Gift **

Botan laughed in delight. There was a smudge of vanilla ice cream, or 'sweet snow' as he liked to call it, on his nose. She thought that it made him look adorable. She giggled when she heard him make a low growl underneath his breathe, most likely pointed at her. Hiei obviously didn't notice or feel what was being displayed on his nose. She giggled some more. He in returned, just looked at her strangely.

"What's so funny onna?" he asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," she said trying to act calm.

"Oh really?" he crawled over to the three feet from where he sat to where she sat on the grass.

Botan froze, watching him crawl closer to her. She was transfixed with his slow movements and confident posture. He gave her a sexy smirk which melted her bones. She thanked all that was good that she was already sitting down. If she was standing up while Hiei did this, she knew that she would have fallen down to her knees and then her butt. She felt her spine quiver slightly. Her eyes traveled from his still smirking mouth upwards. Intending to go up to his eyes, her own stopped at his nose.

The smudge was still there.

And Hiei still didn't know.

A fit of giggles came out again from Botan's mouth. The sudden change of mood made Hiei stop. An annoyed expression came onto his face. He was so close, right next to her. Then she suddenly started laughing. She was the weirdest woman that he ever met. Either that or the craziest.

"What's so funny this time?" he demanded.

Botan fought to control her giggles. After an attempt to tell what made her laugh, she found that she couldn't tell him without going into another state of giggles. So instead of telling him, she brought up a napkin that was lying next to her cup of ice cream and brought it up to his face. Hiei looked at the thing with question, wondering what the napkin had to do with anything. Then Botan wiped the smudge of ice cream off his nose.

She pulled the napkin away a bit to show him.

"You had sweet snow on your nose," she said. She smiled cheerfully.

Hiei gave a smile of his own. But his wasn't the happy kind like Botan's. It was more of seduction. He brought his face closer to hers. Botan felt herself letting go of the napkin, causing it to fall to the grass. When his face was less than an inch from hers, his head veered to the left.

Botan was surprised at the unexpected act and sadden by it. She thought he was going to kiss her. But the negative emotions soon turned into unexpected pleasantries when she felt something wet and warm touch her cheek. It moved up a bit and then the feeling was gone. She shivered in delight.

Hiei pulled away from just a little. His face still close to hers. Very close. He gave her a seductive smirk before licking his lips.

"You had sweet snow on your cheek."

Botan felt her cheeks turning red. Especially the one he had licked.

Hiei's face came closer. His nose touching hers. Their breaths mingling. He closed his eyes. Botan followed suite. Their mouths barely a centimeter apart. Botan's mouth anticipating his.

Her eyes opened slowly when she didn't feel his warm mouth against her. What she found instead was the darkness of her ceiling. It was a dream. It felt a little too real for her liking, but she knew that she enjoyed the dream very much. Recalling what was going to happen just before she awoke, Botan's face turned several shades of red. They were so close. She wanted to kiss him. Felt the need to kiss him. Her face became so red, that the color went down her neck as well. She never felt like that before. The desire to kiss someone was a new experience for her. Botan briefly wondered what it would be like if she actually had kissed him?

What would it feel like if she kissed him for real?

Botan's face flushed deeply. What was she thinking? Resting her forearm on her head, she immediately felt tired. When she came back to Genkai's, she showed Genkai, Yukina and Kuwabara her new gift, a wooden flute, and then after taking with them for about an hour or so, went to bed. She looked out the window and saw clouds covering the moon. She closed her eyes in attempt to fall back asleep, which failed miserably. With a frustrated sigh after about twenty minutes or so of trying, she opened her eyes, expecting to see the dark ceiling.

Instead, what he eyes found was the ceiling alit with colors. Confused, Botan sat up from her bed to look closely at the ceiling. She was sure that it wasn't morning yet. And even if it was morning, there wouldn't be any yellow, bright blue, pink, green, red, orange, and other bright colorful lights dancing merrily in her room. Looking to her window, she saw that her Aysel was opened in full bloom and was the one responsible for giving out all the strange bright colors that was dancing around her room. Looking closely, she saw that each petal made a bright color that glowed and shined through the dark. The buds inside the flower also shone with bright colors.

With a squeal of delight, she jumped from her bed and ran out the door. When she came back into her room, she was not alone.

"Look! Yukina-chan! Genkai-san! My flower is blooming! And its blooming lights!" she exclaimed cheerfully all the while pulling them inside and pointing at her flower at the same time excitedly.

"We see Botan. Now please let go, I would like to get a better look at it," Genkai said and went over to the flower.

"It is very pretty Botan," Yukina said. "I haven't seen one of these since I was last in Makai. Did Hiei give it to you?"

"Hai. Is it common in Makai?" Botan asked, a little dejected to find out that Hiei would give her a flower that one could find anywhere in Makai.

"Iie," Yukina shook her head. "You could only find these types of flower in few places. And even then, you'd have to wait until there is moonlight to make sure that it is the one you want. This is an Aysel, ne?"

"Hai."

"Well, I for one have never seen or heard of this flower before," Genkai said. "It needs moonlight to bloom, am I correct?" She looked out the window to see the moonlight shining down on the flower.

"Yes," Yukina replied.

"Its not a full moon, so any type of moonlight will do I suppose. This flower is very interesting. I think I'd like to have one myself. Maybe I'll go to Makai and get me one of these. Either that or have Kurama make one for me. He seems to have every kind of plant know at his disposal."

"If you are going to ask him, then I suggest that you go to him instead of wait for him to come here. He will not be coming here any time soon." Yukina's tone of voice caused Botan and Genkai to look at her shocked. Genkai recovered quickly and grunted something about going back to bed. Botan continued to look at Yukina with surprise.

There was slight anger and a sense of overprotect ness that Yukina's voice normally did not hold. It reminded Botan of Hiei. She was quickly reminded that they were twins, but they were as different as night and day. It was like they were night and day. Yukina was day and Hiei was night. Now their roles appeared to have switched. Yukina was talking darkly while Hiei was nothing but nice earlier that day. Well, as nice as Hiei could get.

Snapping out her thoughts, Yukina turned to Botan and smiled warmly at the ferry girl. "I'm sorry that I disturbed you. It is just I have recalled something that happened earlier today that got me in a bad mood. I'll leave you to your sleep."

And with that, Yukina left a still stunned Botan.

"I am so talking with her in the morning," she muttered to herself and turned back to her Aysel.

It was still showing off its colors in all its glory. Botan picked up her new flute and sat down on her bed and watched the colors move around her room. It was wonderful gift. She could not begin to thank Hiei for it. She just hoped that he like her gift to him and much as she like his gift to her. She started playing her flute softly for a few minutes. When she could not get the right melody for her current mood, she put her flute down. With a content sigh, she lied back down on her bed and fell asleep. This time there were no dreams of Hiei or of fire. Just of the flower that Hiei gave. Still glowing brightly.

Botan had the strangest dreams.


	12. Conversations

AN: For those you liked **Good**, I'm so glad. And thank you for reading it. There have been requests for another fic like it, but I don't know. I have to think about it. I may a squel.Thank you to those who added me to their Alert List and their Favorites. You guys really flatter me. I hope that I could continue to live up to your expectations. I'm also glad that I got to fool most of you with the dream sequence. I know that most of you are mad about it, but as a writer, that means that I've been improving with writing.

And about the kiss, that should be coming up soon. I may have Hiei and Botan kiss a lot sooner than I planned because all of you seem to want it so bad. But I guess you all have a point, 12 chapters now and still no kiss! Maybe in the next two chapters. And I hope that this chapter stayed within the rating.

**Conversations**

Small flames crackled around him as he made his way down the enormously tall hall that was obviously not made for him. He had his hands formed into tight fist as he walked and was ready to punch the living day lights out of some poor unexpected soul. He glared at demons that he passed by and sneered at those taller than him. To say that Hiei was pissed was an understatement. He was angry and wanted to do nothing but to kill someone. And to go to Ningenkai of course.

But he couldn't. As Mukuro's second in command, he was required to attend this meeting that Mukuro held once every ten years. And that day just happened to be on the same day that was right in the middle of his second week of courtship with Botan. He had plans that he wanted to do with Botan. His plans had nothing to do with sniveling demons that reported to Mukuro from all over her territory, complained to her and begged for help. Their job should be easy enough; wait for baka ningens to accidentally enter Makai, watch them wonder around aimlessly and frighten them for fun (who ever said that it was a fun job to begin with?), gather them up, and then bring them back to Ningenkai. And don't forget the fine print, to try to not get the ningen killed.

Enki wouldn't be very happy if he found out that some pathetic ningen got killed. He may be a little slow, but he is very powerful.

With a scowl firmly imprinted on his face, he continued to plow his way through demons, pushing aside those that didn't move out of way fast enough and ignored those who did and bowed in respect. He had completely forgotten about the meeting, so he didn't tell the onna before hand that he wasn't coming, and to make matters worst, no one had even bothered to remind him about the meeting until that morning! He could let Mukuro slid because he hadn't seen much of her since the second week of his courtship began. But he was going to kill whoever it was that was supposed to remind him about two days ago and never did.

He almost felt bad for the boy demon that had told him of the time of the assembly before he left Makai. He nearly killed him. And the boy was nearly of aged too.

Almost feeling bad for what he did to the boy was nothing compared to the anger that he felt when he knew that he wouldn't be able to see Botan for the whole day. It was almost unheard of to not see the person one was courting in the second week for a whole day. He had planned to take their courtship to the level that it should have been by now. He had been patient enough with her and she knew that their intimacy level had to go pass just holding hands every once in a while. He may have been in solitude for a good part of his life, but even he knew that touching plays a big part on courtship.

"I see that you finally remembered about the meeting," someone spoke, breaking Hiei's fuming stride.

Hiei turned to his left to glare at a purple skinned demon with horns on his head. He was taller than Hiei by a foot and a half, and though Hiei was faster and stronger, he had to respect the other demon's fighting skills. But that didn't mean that Hiei had to like him.

"Hn." Hiei continued walking.

The other demon went by his side, keeping a distance between the two. He didn't like Hiei very much either. "I've heard something very interesting a couple of days ago. I'm not one to gossip but this piece of information caught my attention. Of course I didn't believe it at first. Who would? After all, this was the last thing that any of us had to expect."

"Is there a point to your rumbling or do you just like to hear your obnoxious voice?" Hiei snapped.

"There's a point I promise, or rather a question behind to what I have to say," the other demon smiled.

"Either get to the point now, Zinan, or I leave you to talk to my sword," Hiei glared at him.

Zinan's smile turned menacing. "You're courting with a ferry girl."

Hiei looked at him with mock surprise. "Really? And all this time I thought I was courting a rock. You really are special, aren't you?"

"She's not youkai," Zinan sneered.

"And this bothers you?" Hiei blankly said.

"I would have thought that it would have bothered _you_. She mostly likely was ningen before she became ferry girl. And _you _of all demons, hated ningens just as much as the rest of us. I refuse to serve a ferry girl if you're to ever take over. So what happened? She put a spell on you? You trying to get close to her so that you can have free access to Reikai? Or is she just really good in bed? A pretty little thing like her would make a good whore."

In a flash, Hiei unsheathed his sword and brought it a micro-centimeter away from Zinan's neck. Zinan's back was slammed into the wall in that same instant. The sound of cracks forming on the wall echoed throughout the hallway and all the other demons stopped what they were doing to watch. Some were wondering whether Hiei was going to kill Zinan on the day that he was to report the disturbing activities happening in the northern part of Mukuro's territory. But some had heard the words ferry girl and whore, so they thought that Hiei had every right to kill Zinan right than and there.

Hiei's glaring red eyes darkened as each second went by. He wanted nothing more than to kill Zinan. Unfortunately, better judgment told him not to. Not just yet.

"I should kill you. Torture you. Have you begging for mercy." Hiei brought the sword closer, making a thin red line appear and blood to slowly seep out. Zinan would have gulped in terror for looking straight into Hiei piecing eyes if he knew that he wouldn't get even more injured if he did. "But I won't." Hiei's sword buried a little bit deeper into the purple skin. "Mukuro needs you today. So pray that you'll be able to see tomorrow's sunset."

Before Hiei took his sword away, Zinan's nose caught a whiff of Hiei's scent. His eyes grew a small sparkle of glee, but he hid it so that Hiei wouldn't notice.

When Hiei turned his back to Zinan and sheathed his sword, Zinan said loudly while holding his neck to stop the blood flow, "You're getting soft Hiei. I can barely smell that ferry girl of yours on you. What's the matter? Afraid that you'll stain her purity with a mere touch?"

Hiei stopped. His eyes darkened and narrowed. The next thing that the bystander demons knew, Zinan was on fire. They saw a flash and then Zinan was on the floor, screaming in pain, body moving around furiously. His feet were five feet away from his body. Hiei made a trail with his sword on Zinan's right leg and cut it off at the knee. Blood spurted out from his severed leg. Zinan screamed in pain and agony. His upper right leg moved around violently. Zinan's purple skin darkened as it burned.

"Normally, I'm not one for such messy tortures. And so early in the morning too." Hiei called off his flames and Zinan sank deeper to the ground. What was left of his right leg fiercely twitched. "But you're an exception. You should feel honored." Hiei re-sheathed his sword and turned around once again. "If I ever see you again, before or after the meeting, then I'll cut off both your legs. And if I'm in the mood, I'll kill you."

Zinan was left on the floor, with scorched skin that sizzled and blood oozing around him while the others looked at him with disgust. He should have known better than to trifle and mock someone like Hiei. Zinan was going to have to wait for one of his comrades to help him, they wouldn't. They were loyal to Hiei. But they too, wondered if they evercould sever a ferry girl.

* * *

In Ningenkai, Botan pouted during breakfast. She found out when she woke up that she wouldn't see Hiei that day. Hiei had told her telepathically that he had an important meeting that he had to attend to. Something about it being an annul thing every ten years to be up to date with the latest news. Yukina looked a little down too when Botan told her that Hiei wasn't going to visit them that day. Botan was too depressed to even have a talk with Yukina about the night before.

Two hours after breakfast, Botan was still pouting and bored. Yukina sat with her to accompany her in her boredom.

"What do you want to do Yukina?" Botan asked resting her head in her arms.

"I don't know. The house is cleaned, there is enough food for the next couple of days, and other chores around the house have already been done. We have the whole day to do whatever we want," Yukina said.

"So, what do you want to do?" Botan asked again.

"Bored girls?" Genkai asked.

"There's nothing to do," Botan said, not looking back at Genkai who was behind her. Besides her, she didn't see Yukina's smile in greeting.

"Well I'm sorry that I don't have any suggestion on a remedy," a voice Botan recognized said.

Botan looked up and turned around. "Koenma-san! What are you doing here?"

"Well, like you, I got bored and decided to pay my best worker a visit," was the reply.

Botan jump up and hugged her best friend who was in his teenage form. "I'm so glad that you're here! I have so much to tell you!"

Botan was excited to share her experience with her male best friend. Koenma could tell. But she wasn't going to make the mistake of telling him the details about it like she had done with Kurama. Before she could start, there were three other visitors at the door.

"Hey old hag! You got any cake?" Yusuke's voice was heard.

"It's about time that you came to visit me," was Genkai's reply. "Even Keiko has been more times than you have lately."

Yusuke, Keiko and Kuwabara came inside and Botan quickly went up to them to hug and greet them. Kuwabara ran up to Yukina to give her his usual greeting as Botan hugged Yusuke tightly.

"It's so good to see you again Yusuke. Even if I did last see you about two weeks ago. I'm sure that Keiko has told you about me and Hiei. And why don't you ever come here to visit?"

Yusuke squeezed Botan in return and they both let each other go. "Blame Keiko for not letting me visit sooner," he pointed to the girl talking with Koenma. "She made me stay indoors to study. For over a week! I swear that my brain died at least three times over."

"Well I needed to make sure that you studied for that big test that we had yesterday!" was Keiko's tart reply.

As if noticing Koenma for the first time Yusuke said, "Hey Koenma. Long time no see. How's being ruler of Reikai treating you lately?"

"Hideous. I stamp mostly the same thing every second that a monkey could do it. Want to trade?" Koenma asked.

"And have a pacifier struck in my mouth for hundreds of years? I think I'll pass," Yusuke stuck a finger in his ear as if to clean it.

Keiko smacked his hand away from his ear. "Don't be so dirty Yusuke." She dug inside her purse and handed him a handkerchief to wipe his finger clean.

"Urameshi, sometimes I think that Keiko is your mom and you're the baby. Maybe you should take Koenma's place since you seem to be old enough for the pacifier," Kuwabara laughed.

"Are you calling me baby? At least I don't have a sister to make me seem like an actual baby!" Yusuke yelled.

"Who are you calling a baby?"

"You, baby!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara started their usual fighting with dust floating around them.

"I wish that they'd stop calling me a baby," Koenma sulked.

Botan just smiled at him. She took a sit with Keiko and Yukina and listened as they talked about anything new in their life. It was mostly Keiko who was talking while Yukina listened and Botan half listened. Normally, Botan would gladly engage with any type of conversations with her friends, but today all she wanted to do was see Hiei. After seeing him everyday for the past week and so, she got so use to seeing him so often that it became some sort of a dependency. Like an addictive drug. She _had _to see him. But she couldn't. At least she had friends to keep her occupied for the day.

Friends that she hadn't seen for a long time. Expect for Kuwabara because he was there almost everyday. She shouldn't waste a rare day like this. Botan made up her mind that she would enjoy the day without Hiei. Even if her mind did constantly slip to the short demon.

"So what do you think Botan?" Keiko asked, snapping Botan out of her thoughts.

"Umm…. What were we talking about again?" Botan blushed. That's when she realized that everyone was looking at her with amusement in their eyes, except for Koenma. However Botan never noticed.

"Looks like someone was spacing out," Yusuke teased. "Probably thinking about her special demon."

The group laughed while Botan blushed some more.

"Is Hiei going to come in the afternoon like he did last time I came here?" Keiko asked.

It was Genkai who answered for Botan. "Since the start of this week, Hiei has been coming here the first thing in the morning to pick her up. They leave right after breakfast and generally come back around dinnertime. Sometimes even later."

"But Hiei won't be coming today," Yukina said before Yusuke and Keiko ask about his current whereabouts. "He has a meeting that he cannot miss with Mukuro-san."

"That's kind of too bad. I wanted to talk to him about how to treat our Botan," he gave her a light nuggy on the head with affection. "She's like a sister to me. So he better treat her right! But who would have thought, Botan and Hiei. That's the craziest couple I've ever seen. Hell, I had trouble believing it at first. I always thought that Hiei would end up with either Mukuro or Kurama. And why didn't you tell me about them! You're here everyday!" Yusuke pointed to Kuwabara.

"You never asked!" Kuwabara defended himself.

"But you still could've told me about them!" Yusuke yelled back.

"There they go again," Keiko said exasperated, but fondness was clearly evident in her voice.

Botan and Yukina shared a smile. Botan was so happy that she had such caring friends, even if she didn't get to see them as often anymore. The rest of the day went by with high spirits and a lot of yelling while staying at Genkai's. No one had wanted to leave the compound. Everyone stayed up to dinnertime and after. While Keio, Yukina, and Genkai were cleaning the last of the dishes of their dinner and Yusuke and Kuwabara playing video games, Koenma asked to talk to Botan in private.

"What is it Koenma? Is there something going on in Reikai?" Botan asked once they settled in an empty room away from the others. She covered a yawn.

"No, there's nothing going in Reikai that you should be worried about," Koenma assured Botan.

Botan looked at him confused. "Then what's the matter?"

Koenma thought over his words carefully. "How is your courtship with Hiei coming along?"

"It's good. We've opened up to each other a lot over the pass couple of days," Botan said but was still confused.

"I see," Koenma considered what next words should be. He got up and opened a sliding door that opened to the garden. "While you were away, I've been thinking a lot. Mainly about your courtship with Hiei. The more I thought about, the more worried I got."

"But you don't have to worry about anything. Hiei has been treating me alright. He's been really, nice," Botan frowned at the last word. It wasn't exactly how she would describe Hiei's behavior around her, but it was the closest, besides being possessive around Kurama or even the mentioning of his name.

"Well I am concerned about Hiei treatment of you, though you seem fine with him," Koenma closed his eyes for a second in attempt to hold down the pain. "However, right now, my main concern is about your courtship."

"What do you mean?" Botan covered another yawn.

"What I mean is," Koenma turned around to face a very puzzled Botan. "Have you ever noticed that you are the only ferry girl who is in courtship with a demon who doesn't work for Reikai?"

Botan opened her mouth to answer and then shut it. It had never really occurred to her. She never even thought about it. Now that she did think about it, most ferry girls were single.

"In fact," Koenma went on, "You're the first ferry girl, who used to be a ningen, to have some type of romantic relationship with someone who is not dead. There are those who come close, but the person is usual in a dying state."

That never occurred to Botan either. "I guess I haven't really thought about it as much as I thought I did. This is… some shocking information. I think. Is that a bad thing?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Koenma said defeated. "I've check every record there we have, and like I said before, you're the first ferry girl, who used to be a ningen, to have a romantic relationship with someone other than spirits. I don't think that it's bad morally. There are no laws against it either. It's just that, it's new. Unmarked territory that we're getting into. We don't know what to expect or what kind of results can come out of it. It's one thing to have a relationship with a ningen, it's another to have one with a demon. There could be dangers, then again there could not. In addition, there is always the danger of mating with such a high ranking demon such as Hiei."

Botan stayed quiet to digest it all in. After a few moments she asked, "So what do you suggest?"

"Right now, I don't know. I would like for you and Hiei to slow your courtship just a little bit. But that could be bad in a long shot. On the other hand, speeding it up could be even worst. And I suppose breaking it would be out of the question, ne?"

"Hai!" Botan said firmly.

Koenma made the same bitter smile that Kurama made the night he broke down. Botan looked at him with a questioning stare, but Koenma shook it off. Excusing it as tiredness, Botan let it drop.

"So you see why I'm worried. I have Ayame doing some more research on it. I don't expect to find much on it though. In fact, I don't really expect her to find anything at all."

Botan nodded.

"So it's understood that you'll be careful?"

"Hai."

"Botan, I won't lie. The oni working for us are a lot more passive than the ones running around Makai. And I know that while Hiei did once work for us, there are still so many things that can go wrong. And because of Hiei's violent nature, there is a possibility, small as it is, that he may kill you," Koenma warned.

"Koenma, you're my best friend and I really do appreciate you looking out for me, but I don't believe that Hiei would kill me," Botan hotly stated.

"I know. But I worry about so many things now. You can't really blame me for being so paranoid at a time like this," Koenma smiled apologetically.

"I suppose I can't," Botan forgave him.

Koenma hugged her as tight as he could and buried his face on her shoulder. _'Maybe I'm just being selfish and it's making me paranoid. Still, I can't help but wonder…'_

"You have been resting often, right?" Koenma let go of Botan.

"Yeah, I have," Botan lied. "Let's go see if the others are done cleaning up." She dragged Koenma out of the room.


	13. Red Ribbon

AN: So sorry for the late update. But hey, I originally intended to update by the end of the week, so updating earlier should make most of you happy. And the kiss between them will be in the next chapter!

Crystal Koneko – Yes, Hiei did torch Zinan's ass. And since you seem to like Zinan suffering so much, I may make a scene just about that if you like.

Darkness... – Thanks for reviewing. No! Don't kill Koenma. He's important for the story. I need him for the ending. You can kill Kurama. He may be a pain when he next shows up.

Pen Against Sword – Thank you for reviewing. Like I said before, I knew that you'd like that quote. I love it too. I'm trying the best I could with the updates, but I don't have a lot of time to do them. And thanks for the tip.

Hiei'sgirl13 – Thanks. Don't worry, Zinan will die. Just not in this chapter.

Robin Autumn – It betrayed you? (blinks confused) I'm trying to update as soon as possible. Please don't cry.

botan's horse – I think you're confused. I only said that I was thinking of making a squeal of Good, not put something like it in this story. Because you're right, it would mess up the story. I wrote it because I read a lot of Vegeta and Bulma fics, and the best ones were rated R, so you can see why I had to write one similar to it. Never fear! Good and Courtship Dance shall continue to stay separate!

Priestess Rin – Here's an update.

Hiei's Ice Maiden – Here's an update. And what do you know, it's about Hiei and Botan!

Kitsune Kit – Yes. Poor poor Koenma. But 100percent on the go Hiei. Go Hiei!

Harpra – Here's the next chapter.

Silver Spell – I wanted to elaborate on torture but I was that it might go over the rating. Do you really think that Botan's being naïve? I tried to put her as much in character as I could.

Jake Jackal – Here's more!

Runaway Kogoro – I'm happy that you reviewed! I miss your reviews. Can you do me a favor and make my day by updating your story? Because I love it so much and wish that you'd update soon. And your one shot gave me inspiration to write another story. It's a Hiei and Botan, but Botan sort of raises Hiei and has motherly feelings for him. Hiei is just in love with her. What do you think?

animagrl – Thank you. It took so long because I was too busy with school work and still am, and because I had a bit of writer's block.

alex – Nah, he won't get mad. He knews that they're only friends and nothing more. Unlike Kurama. And thank you.

Daine-Weirynsra – I updated! Yes, let's all kick Zinan!

Danielle – Thank you and I am trying to update as soon as possible.

jj – Thank you and I'm pretty sure that I will finish it.

Suntiger – Yes, you're right. There is a reason behind it. COOKIES FOR YOU! You are the only one who seems to have noticed the worry the Koenma has for Botan and thinks that something might happen. And also about the demons the Hiei has to deal with. And because of your observant questions and because you are the only one to notice, if you review and leave me your e-mail, I will answer one of your questions. One only and you could ask a new one if you want.

* * *

**Red Ribbon**

When the first of the early morning sunlight hit her eyes, Botan slowly opened them and then shut them again quickly in pain. She rolled over so that her stomach was facing her bed and buried her face on her pillow while at the same time, hugging it with her arms. She just wanted a few more minutes of sleep. A few more minutes of peaceful dreaming and then she would get up and get ready for the day. A few more minutes of sleep, that's all she asked. Her body felt tired, and she didn't want to go against what her body wanted to do. And that was to stay on her comfy bed and snuggle with her blanket.

What felt like five minutes to her, was actually an hour that passed when Yukina knocked on her door to wake her up. Gradually, Botan forced herself out of her bed and sat up. Rubbing her eyes in attempt to become more awake, she stood up and went to her window where her beloved flower was, un-blossomed from the lack of moonlight. She smiled down fondly at it and then glared at the sun. It was the reason why her flower wasn't in full bloom, the sun wasn't moonlight, so she wouldn't be able to see her Aysel showing off its beautiful colors and the also because it was morning. All of a sudden, Botan wished that it was night so that she could just fall back asleep again.

Then she remembered that Hiei would be coming for her that morning. That perked her up and caused a bigger smile to spread across her face. She practically floated to her closet to pick out an outfit to wear for the day and her eyes immediately caught sight of the kimono that she had bought with Yukina the week before. She took it out and laid it across her bed and then she opened all her drawers in search of her ribbon that would look perfect with it. Finding it in the bottom of her socks, she didn't know how it got there, she smiled with triumph and laid it on the bed as well. Then she began to dress.

When Botan entered the place where Genkai, Yukina, and herself were to have breakfast, Yukina paused on her work of assembling the table to take at good look at Botan's outfit. Her eyes took a careful look at Botan's kimono and ribbon. Botan started to fidget nervously. She felt like she was waiting for Yukina's approval, which was ridicules. She didn't need Yukina's approval, they were friends. Then again, she kind of was dating her brother.

Then Yukina smiled calmly, dispelling Botan's edginess.

"I approve."

Yukina went back to setting up the table, leaving a dumfounded Botan. She blinked. "Eh?"

The rest of their morning meal went by in a dream like daze to Botan. The majority of it she spent looking at Yukina with perplexity, who in returned just evenly smiled. It was almost as if she was brushing off Botan's questioning stare and had absolutely no intention of answering her. This confused Botan to no end.

When Yukina left the room for some unknown reason, Botan leaned towards Genkai and whispered, "Is it just me or has Yukina been acting strange lately?

Genkai shrugged and sipped her tea. "Demons. Whoever said that they were normal?"

Botan nodded her as if she understood, when in her mind was saying, 'What the heck does that mean?'

A few minutes had gone by and Yukina still hadn't returned to finish what's left of her breakfast. Botan frowned at the empty place where the female demon had previously sat. Thoughts of Yukina wondered to Hiei. Where was he at that moment? Was he still at Makai? What time would he be coming? What would she give him as a gift? And which side of the family did he get his eyes from? They looked like ruby red, but darker, and sometimes looked like they glowed. And if Hiei was considered a curse to his mother's people and never knew who his father was, how did he get his last name? Does Yukina share the same last name?

"Is the miso soup really that interesting?" Genkai asked. She gave a throaty chuckle at Botan's flushing face, who had been staring a little too closely at the soup.

"It's just… um…" Botan stammered. "Hot! That's it. It's just a little too hot for me." She took a deep breath and blew on her cold soup. She giggled nervously.

At that time, Yukina returned into the room with Hiei close by. The remains of something close to pride shone in his eyes and appeared to be aiming at Yukina. Botan stopped giggling and smiled warmly at Hiei. Her heart beat excitedly at the sight of him. She was almost overwhelmed by the feeling of happiness at being with Hiei after missing a day with him and barely held down the urge to hug him. Hiei just curved the corner of his lip and nodded his head in her direction as greeting. When he caught sight of what she was wearing, he paused in his tracts. Botan was wearing a red kimono with black dragon prints all over and a red ribbon tied on her hair to complete it.

It was meant especially for him.

Hiei smiled ever so slightly at her. Botan's smile grew wider at Hiei's look of appreciation.

"How was the meeting Hiei?" Botan eagerly asked, wanting to hear him talk, as he sat next to her. Yukina placed a plate in front of him.

"Long." Hiei grabbed some rice and stuffed it in his mouth.

Botan frowned.

Hiei sighed. "It was long and boring. If anything, it made me lose my temper."

Zinan comes to mind. Hiei's anger rose. Picturing Zinan on fire made Hiei relax.

Botan frowned some more. "Did something happen during the meeting?"

Yukina faintly coughed. "Botan-san, would you like some more rice?"

The ferry girl declined and was soon distracted by the ice maiden's offer of more food. Hiei was grateful for his sister's actions. He wanted to delay mentioning the existence of Zinan as much as he could. It would be even better if she never found out about him. Hiei would have felt better if he had killed Zinan earlier in the morning before he came to Ningenkai. Unfortunately, Zinan had left as soon the meeting ended. Though he had trouble walking with no feet.

Genkai looked suspiciously at Yukina's actions, but didn't say anything. She looked at Hiei to confirm her thoughts. Hiei looked at her through his peripheral vision.

"Hn."

Once Botan was done eating and became too full to eat another bit, after Yukina's continual offer of more food, she felt tired again. The desire for sleep grew. She covered her mouth and yawned. The only thing that kept her from laying her head on the table and taking a nap was Hiei's hand in an offer to help her up and to signal to her that it was time to leave. She took his hand in hers and he helped her up.

"Ja ne, Yukina-chan! Genkai!" Botan yelled her farewells to the women that she was leaving behind. They waved back. She turned to face Hiei, whom was still handing her hand. "So, where are we going today?"

Hiei smirked. "Makai."

Botan's eyes widened with disbelief. "Nani?"

Hiei pulled on Botan's hand, bringing her close to him. Then the two of them disappeared. They next reappeared in a vast area of trees. Botan's eyes showed surprise and her mouth was agape a little.

"How…" she trailed off.

"I did not waste my time solely improving on techniques that I already know," he smirked with pride.

"You teleported! There was no way that you could have run from Ningen to Makai in so little time. Not even you are that good. But… but… how? Is that even possible? How did you ever managed to do it? What about the barrier? How did you get pass that? Do the Special Forces know? Does Koenma know? Can anyone else do that?" Botan ranted shock.

"No, they don't know," he glared at Botan. "And they should continue to not know."

"Of course, of course," Botan waved her hands in front of her to show that she understood. "They won't find out. You can count on me. You know how good I am at keeping secrets."

"Good," Hiei turned away from her, grabbed her hand once more, and started walking through the trees. "I'm the only one who can teleport between worlds, bypassing the barrier. Not even Mukuro knows about my special ability."

"Are you serious?" Botan said still astonished. "How did you get the power to do it?"

"Someone owed me," was his answer. "Besides, I can only teleport twice in one day. Anymore and I would be destroyed by the barrier."

"But still, that's very impressive. More than impressive. It shouldn't be possible. That barrier was specially created by King Enma himself! Who gave you the ability?" Botan asked.

"Onna, you ask too many questions," Hiei irately said. He knew that she would ask nonstop questions, but it still annoyed him all the same. Hiei took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He knew that the annoyance was mostly leftovers from the day before and he hadn't had any time to properly vent it out. "The gift is temporary, only for a couple of days. As for who gave it to me, he wishes for no one to know."

Botan nodded her head, satisfied with Hiei's response. She held onto Hiei's hand tighter and began to look around the place that they were walking through. Nothing of real interest but trees. When they finally got out of the forest, they saw giant doom shaped rock with windows in the middle of an open field. There were several demons loitering and milling about outside the rock with bored expressions. Some turned their head towards Hiei and Botan. Botan moved closer to Hiei, somewhat afraid and a lot intimidated by the demons. Most of them were at least six feet tall. Only two or three were shorter then Botan and even they had more muscles that were bigger than Botan.

"Is this Mukuro's castle?" Botan whispered to Hiei. She smiled nervously at a red skinny demon with un-proportioned yellows eyes and a tongue that he left to hang in the open. Silva slid to the ground slowly forming a small pool that was enough for tiny fishes.

"No, this is mine. I have another castle that is being made as we speak," Hiei replied. He vaguely nodded his head at another demon to his left and stopped before him. "Onna, this is Takeru. Takeru, this is the onna."

Takeru was a humanoid demon with short golden yellow hair and clear blue eyes that were almond shaped. The only remote demonic feature Botan could see on Takeru was his ears; they were curved, the bottom part was noticeable a little longer than humans, and sharply pointed at both ends and top. He didn't look like a demon, but Botan assumed that he was.

Takeru carried the air of perfect calmness though his body stood in stern attention and his face showed no emotion. "I am the head of the security of any and all of Hiei-san's homes."

Botan stepped away from Hiei a little, but still keep her hand clasped with his. She was a little put off with Hiei's introduction of her to Takeru by calling her 'the onna'. She smiled warmly at Takeru, though was still a bit tense.

"My name is Botan. Are you an elf?" she meant to say demon, but elf came out instead.

A smile broke onto Takeru's lips. He turned Hiei, his eyes cracking with hidden laughter and approval. Botan was confused with Takeru's expression and turned to Hiei as well for answers, only to find that he had a small smile as well.

"What? What did I say?"

Takeru let out a deep chuckle. "Not many people can see through my disguise."

Botan titled her head at a lost. "You mean that you have another form that people see?"

"Yes, but because you saw through it, means that you can be trusted," Takeru said.

"Takeru has a spell on him that disguises him from all those that would betray his secret," Hiei explained. "The fact that you saw through it means that despite your big mouth, you can keep a secret."

"Of course I could keep a secret! I kept yours didn't I?" Botan said offended.

Takeru laughed some more, catching the attention of the other demons in the immediate area. Noticing this and the fact that some were whispering to each other and pointing at her, Botan flinched. Others were looking at her like they were trying to figure out her worth. All were relieving their ennui with their newfound interest with Botan. She shifted with uneasiness, feeling like a piece of meat that a costumer was debating on; to buy it or not.

Her distress was broken by Takeru's voice. "To your earlier question, yes I am an elf. Have keep up the illusion, there aren't that many of us left."

He winked at her, causing Botan to grin. "That's because most of them reside in Reikai."

Hiei tugged at Botan's hand, silently telling her that it was time to move on. She waved to Takeru and followed Hiei. Takeru waved back. A light breeze ruffled his short hair and he quietly said, "I like her."

The words carried themselves to Hiei's ear. He lowered his head to hide his smile and squeezed Botan's hand. Now that Botan had the approval of Takeru, many more will accept her. Like Hiei, he liked few. However it was extremely difficult to tell who he liked and those he disliked.

Not wanting to share the onna with other demons that Hiei knew that Botan should meet, he took her body in his arms, heard a squeak of surprise and confusion from her lips, and carried her off to a more exclusive place. Once there, he set her down and smirked at her disheveled form. She glared at him.

"Thanks for the warning." And then she began to rearrange herself.

"You must be prepared to move at any second. In Makai, you could die without even knowing. There are those who will sneak up on an unsuspected demon doing absolutely nothing to offend anyone."

"Are you going to start training me again now?" Botan pouted. Her kimono was new. She didn't want to ruin it when it was the first time that she was wearing it.

Hiei smirked amused. Grabbing her by the hand again he proceeded to walk. He felt her relax at his touch as he led her around the more peaceful part of Makai. He watched her head move left to right and then back again, trying to look at the place in every angle she could. Occasionally she would make comments and ask questions about living in Makai. Then she started to tell him about the visit of the once detective, his soon to be mate, the baka, and the baby king. As she talked, Hiei knew that she was hiding something from him. But he didn't question her about it. He was content enough to watch her eyes sparkle as she recounted about her day.

The simplest things amuse her, Hiei observed.

Botan didn't how long they've been walking or where to. She knew next to nothing about the places of Makai. Time also felt a little different than in Ningenkai. It felt more laid back as opposed to the feeling of time running downs one's fingers like water. Perhaps it was because demons had such long lives and the very place and sense of time itself ran alone with it. Ningen lives were short, so it made sense that time seemed to run faster there. In Renkai, time had little to no meaning.

"Hiei, how old are you?" They had reached the edge of a cliff when she asked.

Hiei looked at her with surprised eyes. It was a question that he didn't expect. "Why? Does age really matter to you?"

Botan shrugged. "No. It was just curiosity. Besides, I want to know if I'm older than you."

He rolled his eyes at her kitty-cat face. Before he could retort his answer, he instantly tighten his hold on Botan's hand, pulled her closer to him, and jump away from where they were previously standing. Looking down from the air, Botan saw a huge cloud of dust clearing way to reveal ten demons that tried to attack them. They glared darkly at both of them. In his hold, Botan could feel Hiei already ready for battle. Gracefully landing on the ground far away from the demons, he set her down and leapt to face them head on. She didn't see him unsheathe his katana, nor did she see him promptly kill the first demon on his path to the biggest, and most likely, strongest one there.

Within seconds, Hiei had dispatched four of the demons. He spoke with them, they answered, and then he snarled at them. Botan couldn't hear what they were saying, but whatever it was it made Hiei angry. The remaining demons had no chance against him. His alacrity confounded, distracted, and upset what ever tactics they had planned beforehand. Hiei was just too good. Botan took several steps closer to the battle. She knew that it wasn't the wisest move to make, but she want to a closer look at the battle and to hear whatever it was they were saying.

Soon enough, only the big ugly demon who appeared to be the leader of the once group of demons remained. The demon shook of the amount of blood that he lost and the limps that were missing. What was once six arms now reduced to one. Botan heard Hiei growl something and she saw the fear in the enemy's eyes. The only word that she heard coming from his lips was, "Zinan."

That did it for Hiei. No sooner did the name come out did Hiei decapitated his head. Anger and fury rose inside him and threatened to overwhelm him. How dare he? After he had been so nice as to let him live at least for another day. But now, to be so stupid as to send his soldiers to attack him and his potential... Zinan would pay. He would pay dearly.

Hearing movement from behind, Hiei put his katana away and spun around to see Botan. Her hair flowing with the wind. Along with it was her red ribbon. It was a different shade from the blood that pooled around him, darker. Silently, his eyes asked for something. Almost begging her to give it to him. She gazed at him, her eyes piercing his own.

Understanding what he want, Botan reached up behind her and pulled on her ribbon. Long blue hair that reminded Hiei of the sky on a clear day spilled to her back. The wind blow with more force and her hair flew to her side, making it look like a banner in the sky for those who bothered to look up at them from below. The tail of the ribbon swayed like waves, moving in sync with her hair.

The deity of death stepped closer to the demon and held the ribbon out to him. He took it and saw that the blood that he spilled, covering parts of his hand, didn't stain the ribbon.

Later when the sun had long fallen, Takeru was alone outside Hiei's castle, guarding it from any intruders. He saw Hiei walking towards in an even pace and with something in his arms. As Hiei got closer for his keen vision to see, Takeru saw that it was Botan. Hiei carried the sleeping onna bridal style while her head rested on the crook of his neck. As he got within a few steps away, Takeru could smell the lingering scent of blood on Hiei.

"Was the battle fun, milord?"

Hiei walked passed him and into the castle. "Tomorrow we're going hunting."

"Shall I prepare a unit to accompany?"

"No. The two of us will be more than enough."

There was a sort of calmness as Hiei walked away from Takeru and continued on to his room. The scent of Botan filled his nose and soothed his raw nerves from before. The feel of her warm body against his was enough to make his mind run wild with lustful thoughts and images. Kicking the doors to his room open, he headed straight for the bed. Once there, he laid her down on it gently, not wanting to disturb her sleep.

The onna tried so easily. He would have to fix that soon. He caressed her face as he thought how smooth her skin was. Hiei didn't want to part with her just yet, so he thought that she could just stay with him for the night. Botan made a small smile with his gentle strokes. Hiei's face became almost tender.

He placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered, "Goodnight."


	14. Dancing Still

AN: I'm trying to get the updates going faster. Usually I write in my profile telling you guys why I haven't update.

Hiei'sgirl13 – Thanks. Hiei is going nicer, isn't he? Well that's character development for ya.

Crystal Koneko – I like Takeru too! The kill Zinan is later in this chapter. Do you like the elves from Lord of the Ring?

WolfSpirt – Thanks.

Densetsu Tenshi – Really? Well thanks for reviewing and I hope that you like this chapter too.

Vindiya – Thanks for pointing out that I had errors in the last chapter. I went back and fixed some of them. Sadly I no longer have a beta reader because our schedules conflicted so I have to do it myself.

Suntiger – well, I already e-mail you. Did you e-mail me back? If you did, I think that I accidentally deleted it. Opps.

Darkness... – Thanks for not killing Koenma. Umm, Takeru did not work for Santa Clause. But if you want, I could make a chapter for you where Santa Clause is a demon and does… stuff.

Kitsune Kit – Me too! That's why I chose that outfit for her.

poptart – I like your name. What Yukina and Hiei were talking will be explain later. As soon as I found out. Oh, and here's more!

Jake Jackal – Thanks!

Hiei's Ice Maiden – Thanks a lot.

botan's horse – Yukina was… I'll get back to you on that. I have to wait to find out too because I don't know! And I'm the writer! Hiei is going to wear the ribbon. But not in a way that you may think.

orange09 – Do you really think so? Well thanks! I feel so loved.

Hiding behind a mask – It's updated.

RitSuYue – It's updated.

BoTaN JaNaGaShI AKA.yukieitan – Thanks.

Robin Autumn – Thanks. Wow. You're really in love. I'm flattered that you really really liked the chapter.

luckyducky – I'm trying my best to have them stay in character. But there will be times that they will seem OOC because of the situation and character development. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

animagrl – I don't know Yukina's secret! But I have updated.

Danielle – Wow. Thanks a lot for liking my fic. Sorry that I couldn't update sooner.

Harpra – Thanks for reviewing twice. Thanks for wishing me peace, prosperity, good health, wisdom, strength, and no writers block. I wish you the same. I've tried my best to update soon. Have you looked at demon web sites? This web site has a lot of demon names. http/ – ((eyes wide)) You'll kill everyone? Kill who? And I updated!

Black Wolf Fire – I will finish this story! And hopefully before summer comes. And please, I beg of you, DON'T CUT MY TOES!

Lise – I've updated! Are you serious? All of them in one night? ((bugged eyed))

alex – Thanks. Does the other authors' stories that you read not update?

'_Thoughts…'_

**Dancing Still**

The first thing that Botan noticed when she awoken was that she was unusually warm. Still having her eyes closed and half asleep, Botan tried to feel her surroundings to see (or feel) what was keeping her so warm. Her hand rubbed against a blanket that was draped over her body, but she had a feeling that it wasn't the only thing keeping her warm. Plus it didn't feel like her blanket. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times to rid herself of the blurred visions. When her sight became clearer, she saw that the room she was currently in wasn't hers.

In fact, she didn't recognize it at all.

Panic seized Botan. Hurridly, she began to search the room for any clues as to whose it belonged to. She lifted her head from the pillows and was about to sit up when something brought her back down to the bed. Looking at the place where she felt the pressure on her body, she saw the thing that brought her down. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp. Which she immediately thank all that was good that her voice became inaudible at that moment. There was an arm holding Botan down by her waist, and looking to where the arm was connected to was Hiei, sleeping soundly right next to her, facing her back. Surprisingly, Botan never noticed him until that moment. She blamed it on the tiredness and sleepiness that she still felt.

If she had bothered to look closer in the way that he held her, she would have said that it was very protective. That or possessive.

Botan felt very comfortable lying where she was. She turned her head around to look at him and tried not to move her body so she wouldn't wake him. Staring at his face, Botan thought he looked adorable while he was sleeping. She wished that she could watch him sleep more often. The she blushed when she realized that she may just get her wish and soon. The dream that she had of him giving her seductive smirks came back to her and she flushed even more. Wetness tickled between her legs and then she moved them awkwardly. Her movements caused Hiei to stir and she quickly moved her head back and feigned sleep.

Unknown to Botan, Hiei had been awake, since her wetness first appeared. The scent of her arousal infiltrated his nose and immediately woke him up. And he was having such a nice peaceful sleep too, something that he had little of in his whole life. But maybe, this could make up for it. His eyes darkened and made an intent look at the back of her head. The desire to have her, to take her, surged throughout his whole body. The arm that was wrapped around her had formed into a fist.

The need for her was so much that his arm was bringing her closer to him. As her body came closer to his, the scent grew. The more the scent grew, the more intoxicated he became. It was addicting. Hiei's lust filled mind wondered if she tasted as good as she smelled. It's been too long since he had a woman to sate him and this was the first time that it was going to be with someone that he cared for.

The experience looked promising.

_Take her. Her body is ready. She is ready. _

Hiei couldn't deny what his lustful thoughts said mainly because he didn't want to. Her scent drugged him. There was only one way to remedy it. Once her body was pressed against his, he took a deep breathe, breathing her in. He tightened his hold on her, enjoying the feel of her being so close to him. Hiei was sure that she would feel even better without any barriers between them.

However, before he could make any advances on her, Hiei heard Botan's rapid heart beat. His sensitive ears heard her short quick breaths and the nervous pattern in which her heart was beating. As if it was a wake call, his instincts started screaming, **_No! Not yet! She isn't ready!_**

Hiei bit his lips from growling with disappointment and said huskily in her ear when he was able to control himself, "I'm know that you're awake."

Botan's face became even redder. She had obviously thought that he was going to do what he had originally intended. Hiei chuckled silently.

"Oh… well I… didn't know that you were awake," she fumbled at her words.

If the word cute was in his dictionary, he would have thought that she looked very cute at that moment. But since it wasn't, he thought that she looked exceedingly exquisite.

He smirked at her. Looking at him from the corner of her eye because she was too embarrassed to look at him straight on, she saw the smirk and blushed even more. Hiei smirked once more and laid back down on his bed, taking most of the warmth and blanket away from Botan.

Botan pulled on the blanket and wrapped it around her to regain the warmth. Hiei frowned and pulled the blanket back to him. She pulled back. He growled.

"Onna, stop pulling the blanket! You had had it most of the night. It's my turn."

Botan turned her body around to face him and glared. She was not a happy person if she didn't get her early morning sleep after a night's long slumber. "But I want it and I'm cold. I still want to sleep. Besides, it's a big bed with a big blanket, share."

"That's impossible to do when you keep taking them," he growled at her.

"Are you calling me a blanket hug?"

Deja vu swept over them. Flashes of the Botan being called fat incident crept back into their minds.

"Why do you still feel the need to sleep when you slept early last night? Not to mention the fact that it's morning."

"It is?" she asked with innocence.

"The blanket is mine." And with that, Hiei pulled the blanket harder, taking it out of the ferry girl's grasp, wrapped it tightly around himself, and faced his back toward her.

Botan's mouth opened incredulously and blinked. She closed her mouth while fire burned in her eyes. She tried to pull the blanket back to continue their tug-of-war so that she could get the blanket back but to no avail. Hiei had a tight grip on it. She started to pout.

"Hiei." She poked his back. He didn't move. She poked again and got the same result. "_Hiei,_" she whined.

"Hn."

"Hiei," she snarled his name with annoyance and warning.

"Hn." He smirked. He was having fun.

"That's it Minster, I warned you." Botan balled her fist and punched the demon's back as hard as she could while letting out her own war cry. When she withdrew, she shook her hand with pain and bit her lip so that Hiei wouldn't hear her whimper. Botan saw his back stiffen when she glanced at him. She started to get nervous. "Hiei? I didn't hurt you too much, right? Because I'm still a weak ningen, ne? Ne? Hiei?"

Hiei slowly turned around. She saw his stone face with mischievous eyes before she felt herself fall from the bed. She looked up at the bed and complained, "That's wasn't nice Hiei!"

All she got was a chuckle. He sprawled himself on his bed so that she couldn't get back on. "My bed."

"But I was on it too!" she sat up on the floor.

"So?"

"So you had no right to push me!"

"My bed, my bedroom, my castle. That gives me the right to do whatever I damn please." He smirked at her fuming face.

"You're being a jerk."

"I'm not a jerk, just cocky."

"What's the difference of what you are?" Botan said.

He caught her chin with his hand and held it in place. He smirked with seduction. "The difference is I can be whatever you want me to be."

All Botan could do was shiver.

* * *

Outside the castle, two demons walked with a lazy pace in the direction of Hiei's home. Both were covered from head to toe, making it difficult, if not impossible, to tell their skin color unless one was to look at their hands. One had a battle mask with one long line that was used as a peep hole for the eyes. The other was wrapped in bandages and ofudas placed on random places on his/her head. The gender was difficult to tell. The most likely answer would be male.

As they arrived near the door, they were greeted by several demons lined up in a single file, bowing, and Takeru at the lead.

"Mukuro-sama. It is good to see you again," Takeru said and began to walk with them inside.

"And you. Tell me, is Hiei still here? Or is he at Ningenkai now?" Mukuro asked.

"Hiei-san is still here. I believe that he is currently located in his bed chambers."

"How unusual of him. He should have left by now to visit _her_." The last word was said with distaste.

"I believe that she with him now," Takeru's voice was light.

"Really?" this definitely caught Mukuro's attention. "Did they mate?"

They reached two large doors in which Takeru opened. Inside was a long table in which the three sat down. Takeru paused before answering. "If by mate you mean, have they claimed one another? It is highly doubtful. But if you meant that they had sex, then that is a good possibility. However, I don't believe that they did."

Unseen by her two companions, Mukuro raised an eye brow. "Then what do you believe?"

Takeru gave her a causal smile. "That they just slept together."

"Do you have proof of this?" asked the other demon who sat next to Mukuro.

"No," Takeru gave him a disarming smile.

Kiri grunted. He didn't fully trust Takeru. He was an unpredictable factor with eyes that claimed that they were all knowing and a smile forever on his lips. Sometimes Kiri wondered why Hiei chose him as head of his security. (AN: Is Kiri still alive in the anime?)

"What do you think of her?" Mukuro asked, curiosity laced in her voice.

Takeru just kept on smiling. "I like her."

* * *

Several hours later from when Hiei kicked Botan out of his bed, Hiei walked down the halls and went out the door that led out of the castle. At the door, he waited for Takeru. Hiei already knew that Mukuro was in his castle and only stayed in the same room with her for no more than two minutes, informing her that some of the demons under her were going to die.

He immediately left after she spoken some very interesting words with him. He didn't want to be delayed any longer.

While Hiei waited for the elf, he thought back to when he was still with the baka onna a few minutes ago. He found that he enjoyed making her blush and liked the way her face seemed to glow whenever she talked. Of course he did think that that trait of hers was still annoying, but less so now. He liked listening to her talk. How odd that he considered it annoying and yet enjoyed it at the same time.

Hiei also discovered his strange fascination with touching her skin. Her face in particular. It was so smooth and creamy. He originally was just trying to make her face flush by tracing it with his finger when he found that he couldn't pull away. He wanted to put both of his hands on her face and move her closer to him. But she was the one who pulled away from him. The onna was easily embarrassed.

He knew what he was feeling. He never thought that he would feel-

"My Lord?" Takeru's asked. Hiei stopped his musing to glance at him. Then he nodded and raced off. The other right behind him.

An hour later at a different location, a small fortress shook. Outside, bodies of slain demons created the illusion of an open, fresh grave. Inside, the sound of terror and panic echoed throughout walls. Fire was the main element being used and it buried away a few demons along with their dust. Occasionally, a bright golden light flashed and several life forces departed from Makai. Dried blood painted the inside of the walls, only because the current owners were messy with their killings. The way they were being killed was clean.

'_There's a bit of ironacy in this,'_ Takeru thought to himself as he brought a staff down on a demon's head hard, effectively smashing the skull down to the neck. Then he leaned against the wall right next to the corner and held out his staff so that it stood at an angle. Another demon running by tripped on it.

In a different part of the fortress, Zinan absconded in the halls as fast as he could with no feet. The very air felt like death was approaching and he didn't want to be one of the dead just yet. He didn't dare look back. If he had, he would have gotten encouraged to run faster. But he didn't and he stupidly thought that he could actually get away.

Zinan smirked to himself. If he escaped, then there was still a chance of carrying out his plans. Almost at the door, Zinan reached out to open it when he noticed that his arm had lost some weight. Looking at it, he saw that his forearm was missing. Like in a pervious fight Hiei had fought in the Dark Tournament, Zinan didn't feel any pain until he noticed it. He began to scream and curse in pain at the top of his lungs.

"And I thought that the baka onna was the loudest person I knew," Hiei muttered.

"My arm!" Zinan screamed. "My right arm!"

"It's not your right arm that you should be concerned with."

That next thing that Zinan saw was his whole left arm on the floor. Sliced in a perfect line. He fell to the ground, too weak to remain standing.

"Now," Hiei pointed the tip of his sword to the fallen demon's neck. "Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now after you sent a pathetic group of demons after me and the onna yesterday."

"Mukuro-san…" Zinan said weakly.

"What does she have to do with any of this?" Hiei's tone was flat.

"Killing me only because…. you got mad… and everyone else here… she's ningen," he crooked out.

Hiei's face reminded emotionless but his eyes spoke volumes. He was furious. He leaned towards Zinan's body a little. "Takeru's killing your underlings because Mukuro found proof that you and everyone else here was planning on betraying her. I'm here, on the verge of killing _you _because of yesterday, after I gave you a very generous pass to live."

Zinan shook from hemorrhage and from fear. He didn't have anything to say. Hiei looked at him with disgust. He wasn't fit to be demon. Without another word, he ended the pathetic sap's life and left. He placed a hand on the side of his chest, where Botan's ribbon was located, and then he benighted as he went into the shadows, like always.

* * *

Back at Hiei's castle, Botan admired herself in the full length mirror. After taking a long bath, she found some clothes outside the bathroom door that was almost her size. The top was a little small on her, but it complimented her curves so she didn't complain. She wore dark blue sweats and a matching blue tank. Botan thought that she looked like a girl version of Hiei, but taller and had different colors of hair and eyes. He called her look, Yukina Version Two.

She giggled as she tried to imitate Hiei's snarl and his glare. Of course one couldn't pull off a snarl while they giggled and her glare looked pitiful. Next she tried copying some of his fighting moves.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" she yelled while she tried to arrange her body in the way she saw Hiei did whenever he called upon the dragon. Botan looked and felt like an idiot. Then her stomach growled. Placing a hand on her rumbling tummy she said, "Time to eat."

Botan opened the door of Hiei's room and poked her head out. She saw no one in the hall when she looked both ways and there was no tray of food on the floor. She was disappointed because she had hoped that there would be food there like all the movies and television shows portrayed. Botan got out of the room and slowly closed the door. She made her way down the empty halls as quietly as she could. It was as if he was afraid to disturb the silence. When Botan reached an intersection at the hall, she saw a female demon making her way to some unknown destination.

"Hi. I'm Botan and I'm Hiei's-" Botan started but was cut short when the other female raised her hand.

"Mukuro-sama would like to see you," she said and then proceeded to walk away. Botan followed her.

"Do you have any food?"

The unknown female just led her to a room with a table and food on top. Botan practically squealed with joy and ran to the table and took a sit.

"You are pleased very easily," an eerie voice said.

Botan looked up to see who had spoken. "Mukuro-san! I didn't know that you were here. Would you like something to eat?"

"No, I just wanted to talk to you. I'll wait until you're done," Mukuro took a seat opposite of her.

Botan began to eat a little bit faster then she usual did. She didn't want to keep the once ruler of Makai (or part of it) waiting too long. Plus, having Mukuro right next to her, watching her eat, unnerved her.

When she was done, Mukuro asked, "Do you know how to dance?"

"Eh?" came Botan's confused voice. What did that have to do with anything? And why did she want to know? "I… know. Do you?"

"Have you ever danced with him?"

Botan didn't ask who 'he' was. She was a bit upset that Mukuro didn't answer her question. "No."

"I see. I have. Danced with him. Numerous times." Mukuro paused and asked before Botan could say anything. "What do you dance?"

Botan blushed with embarrassment. "I've only been taught a Chinese dance. It's a dance for one."

The demon raised one of eyebrows. "I see. Maybe you should teach me it one day," she muttered.

"What did you say?"

Mukuro looked coolly at the ferry girl. "Do you know that I'm a very jealous woman?"

"Um, no." Botan had no idea where this was going.

"Do you care for Hiei?"

This is an easy question. "Yes."

"I care for him too."

"I'm sure that you do. I mean after all, he is your second in command and very powerful. He's a great fighter too, not that I'm saying that you don't know, because I'm sure that you do. You sought him out specifically so you should know. And he's a great friend to have. Very loyal and helpful when you need him the most. But I'm sure that you know all this too since you spend the most time with him," Botan babbled.

"I don't spend much time with him as of late."

Botan reddened knowing the reason why. "Oh. Well, yeah."

"Have you two gotten past just holding hands?"

"Um… we did sleep in the same bed," Botan made a weak smile because she was afraid that Mukuro might get the wrong idea. They weren't mated yet.

"I care for Hiei. I'm not sure how much you care for him but I will be spiteful enough for now to say that I care for him more than you do," Mukuro's voice was almost strident.

"N-Nani?" Realization washed over Botan like a tidal wave. She suddenly felt very small and wanted to run. Run in circles screaming like her mind was while a small other part of her wanted to bang Mukuro's head on the table. She wasn't very comfortable with that idea because it wasn't in her nature to be violent unless she absolute had to or provoked. She wondered if this was one of those times.

"I want him to stay by my side. I do not see yet why he likes you so, though I have some idea. I am sure that you are a self-abnegation person and have a convivial attitude. Maybe that is why he likes you. Or maybe it's what revolts him and only forces himself to stay with you," Mukuro said.

"I…" Botan was at a lost on what to say.

"I am close with Hiei. I know about his past, how he was abandoned all the way to when he got his Jagan, because he has let me see it."

Botan abruptly became jealous. The only reason why she knew Hiei's past was because it was a part of his profile when he was still working for Koenma. He never told her anything about his past.

She cleared her throat. "Are you saying that I'm not close to him?"

"No. I am saying that I'm very close with him. He has have even seen me without clothes on the first day that we've met."

The ferry girl's eyes widen with mistrust. "Are you going to get rid of me? Kill me?"

"No," came Mukuro's reply. "If I did, he would not forgive me. May even kill me."

"Oh."

So she was afraid of Hiei. Did that mean that he is stronger than her?

"Do not think that I have said all of this to scare you out of your courtship with him. I say this so that you could be prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Maybe this is what the conversation is supposed to be about.

"Hiei and I are kindred spirits. The both of us have gone through pain and hardships in our lives that has gotten us to where we are now. Can you honestly say that you can really take care of him when you had a more pampered life?" Mukuro asked.

Botan looked down for a moment. "I think that I can."

"If you are to be with him, don't think, just do it." Mukuro got up and started to leave. She stopped at the door. "One more thing. You should start practicing that dance for one of yours."

Then she left. Leaving the girl of Reikai alone in the big room.

Somehow, Botan found herself in Hiei's room. The halls were like maze so she didn't know how she got there. A fan appeared in the air, which Botan caught easily when it fell. She always kept a fan in hand just in case she ever wanted to dance again.

She snapped it open and saw the design of it in the mirror. It was golden dragon. She spread her arms away from her body and began the dance that was meant for one. Then she stopped and moved ever so slowly. She looked at herself carefully. _'This is how it is to be dance still.'_

The whole world seems to stop and there is nothing else but you and the person you're dancing for.

When Hiei came back, the fan was gone and Botan was sitting on his bed. She got up and bit her lip.

"Were you bored?" Hiei asked.

Following Mukuro's advice, she didn't think. Botan grabbed Hiei's head and brought her lips to his.


	15. Let Go

AN: Reasons why I updated so late: I got lazy; I forgot about the SATs; I forgot about my finals; I got really busy with my friend's party that I am a part of her court; I got serious family problems. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and I will do my best to update faster but I make no promises because I got a week of finals still coming up.

Ookami Otome – Hope that you like this chapter. You seem to be in shock right now.

Dragon Tamer103088 – Hiei's reaction with be… Well, read and find out. I'm not sure if he likes to watch people dance. I think you're confused. The people around him like to dance and use it as an antonym for life. I hope that I spelled the word right.

Crystal Koneko – Thank you. I thought that the conversation between Mukuro and Botan would really happen too. I tired not to make Mukuro seem too much like a threat, but I guess it couldn't be helped.

Hiei'sgirl13 – Mukuro wasn't that bad. And yes, Hiei and Botan finally kissed.

tuathafaerie – You finally reviewed! I thought that you dropped of the face of the earth! But I knew that you were sick, and I hope that you feel better. I lost my voice over spring break. The long review does make up for it, thanks. Yes they are still in the mating process, but they won't be having any kids for a very long time. And, I don't think that Hiei would be getting Botan sheet any time soon. But the idea does have possibilities. I have to think more on it.

ShadowDragon – Thank you. I tried as best as I could to update sooner. But alas, it was not meant to be.

luckyducky – Thank you. Hiei's going to kiss her back of course! Hope you like this chapter too.

Vindiya – I know! I tried to find them when I edited it, but I got so tired of looking over the same thing over and over again. I appreciate the offer, really I do and it flatters me, but sadly I cannot accept. For one, I need to learn how to do it myself because I need to learn how to spell and write with better grammar. And also, my schedule is crazy. I'm not consistence as I used to be and bad luck follows me everywhere. With my last beta readers, they became too busy to edit my chapters when they just started too! and lastly, your e-mail stopped at so I couldn't send you my chapters even if I wanted to. Then I remembered that you have an account on fanfiction too and then I felt stupid. But I am really sorry and hope that you enjoy my story.

Darkness... – Thanks. If Botan did attack Mukuro, Hiei would be very sad and the story would have ended. I think. I can tie in Santa Clause into the story, but it would be a very twisted tale of him and not the happy one that we all like to hear. So if you don't want a sick tale of him just say the word and I'll change my plans because it's not an official thing yet.

RitSuYue – Thank you. Did I really use so many big words? Sorry. Practicing for the SATs. Granted that none of the words I used was on there. Well this chapter has no big words so they should be an easy read for you.

kahel09 – I so sorry that I couldn't update sooner. I tired but I just got so busy. And thank you.

Kitsune Kit – Never piss of Mukuro. I'm happy that _I_ updated.

Hiei's Ice Maiden – I tried to update soon. Maybe the next chapter I'll update faster. And thank you.

Robin Autumn – Thank you. I hope that you didn't wait too long. No worries, I cant spell either!

Jester of Confusion – First, cool name. second, there will be no lemon in this fic. If you want lemon then read my other fic called **Good.** Third, here's more!

Daine-Weirynsra – Mukuro wasn't that bad. At least I didn't think so. And I updated!

BlackRosesofHell – Thank you. I've been thinking of this plot ever since the summer of last year. But there's more to it than you think and it's in this chapter.

Suntiger – Yeah, too bad I ended it there. But it picked up here. And yes, but shh. It's a secret.

animagrl – No lemon. Read my other fic **Good. **

DB – Thank you. Hope that you like this chapter.

Harpra – Thank you and here's the next chapter. You're right. It did take me a while to update.

anime09 – I updated!

animegrl15 – I sorry, but I can't drag it out as you would like. The story must go on. But there are still a couple of chapters left. Well, there should be a couple of chapters left. And thank you, but no lemon in this fic.

Jake Jackal – Thank you. You rock!

Tear Drop Eyes – Thank you. And I did update.

felix – thank you. What do you know; I did make your deadline.

Pen Against Sword – Why does every hate Mukuro now? And no biggie. I updated!

Black Wolf Fire – I sorry but I've been busy. And you can't sick wolves on me because they are my favorite animals!

Hiei's Kat – Sorry, but I couldn't find the time to read the chapter that you sent me. Though I did mange to read half of it.

Kimbley – Thank you. I tried to update soon. Read to find out what happens next.

Naito Sora – You really think that my fic is that good? Cool. I really did try. Thank you. I'm sure that you could write something as good or better than mine if you tried.

hieibandit – Mukuro wasn't that scary. Mukuro is a very powerful demon that used to be one of its rulers. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

* * *

**Let Go**

If there was ever a person giddier than Botan was at that moment, Hiei had yet to meet that person. Then again, Botan was the happiest person that Hiei ever met so maybe this shouldn't be too weird for him.

But it was!

The onna kept smiling and giggling to herself ever since she took him by surprise. Though it was a nice surprise. So nice that it even made him smile. And that same smile would not get off his lips no matter how hard he tried. Not that he really wanted to rid himself of the giddy feeling that he was currently sharing with the onna.

The ferry girl was definitely changing him. For one, giddy was not in his dictionary and so far he used the word twice in one day. For another, giddy is associated with stupid and silly, and he just described the feeling that he felt with giddy. The onna was changing him, whether he liked it or not.

Hiei growled, but not unkindly. "Baka onna."

He pulled her closer so that he could kiss her. He liked kissing her. Granted that when she first pulled him into their first kiss, there was no huge explosion that declared unyielding love or sparks running throughout their bodies. However he did love the feeling of her body melting when he placed his mouth on top of hers. Her lips were so warm and inviting. He also liked the taste of her. She tasted like life and death at the same time. There was also something else that he couldn't identify but he didn't mind because it tasted like her and that was all he needed to know.

Hiei pulled away from her so that she could breath. He saw Botan's dazed expression and somewhat puffy lips. He pulled her towards him and kissed her again. He was starting to get addicted to her.

Botan giggled again when they broke apart. "I could definitely get use to that."

He already was more than use to it. Hiei brought her closer to him and inhaled her scent deeply. After a while, he pulled away from Botan but still held on to her hand. She looked at him questionable.

"Yukina will start to wonder where you are."

"I'm sure that she knows where I am," Botan said, brushing off the thought of leaving.

Hiei smirked. Years ago, the onna would have agreed with him and would leave to not upset his sister. She was changing as well. He wanted her to leave though. It wasn't as if he really wanted her to leave. It was just he would gone from the castle all night tying up some loose strings and he didn't want her to get bored doing nothing in his room and he didn't trust her fighting skills enough to leave her alone in Makai. Takeru would be too busy doing his own work to watch her and he didn't trust anyone else in Makai to protect her.

Hiei caressed her cheek. "It's time for you to go back to Ningenkai."

"Why?"

A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "I need to finish something that I've started tonight. And it will take me all night," he finished before she could say a word.

Botan pouted. "But can't I just stay here?"

"You'll get bored and then start wondering the halls by yourself. By the time I get back, I won't know who to save, you or my underlings."

She whacked him the shoulders lightly. "I think that maybe you've spent too much time with me. You're been making too many jokes where I'm the butt end of almost all of it."

Hiei led her to the balcony and shrugged nonchalantly. "Why not? You're easy to tease and… amusing to watch when you react."

"You know what? I won't even respond to it. _I'll _be the mature one here."

"You do that."

"Fine. I will."

"I still have to give you a present."

Botan's eyes sparkled like a little kid on Christmas and her childish voice exclaimed, "Present!"

Then the two disappeared.

* * *

In Reikai, Koenma was bored and he didn't want to do any of his mountain high pile of work. And when he was bored, he did either of two things: do something that would get people humiliated (mainly Yusuke) to amuse him or have his mind go off in its own little world where it would then proceed to make him think about things that he rather not think about.

Today, his mind decided to go off on its own and started to think about a certain ferry girl.

How pretty her long blue hair was and the smile that was always on her face. How beautiful and clear her skin was and how she always wore her heart on her sleeve. She was such a terrible lair. And how she was dating Hiei and how she looked as if she was falling in love with him and not him. Him as in Hiei and him as in Koenma.

Then Koenma's heart sank.

Thinking about Botan was painful.

At least he knew that he wasn't alone in his misery. What a shocker, really. Who would have ever thought that Kurama would fall for the blue haired deity too? And all this time, he thought that the fox demon like Hiei. The reason why he knew this was because he was watching Hiei, just to make sure that his motives were in earnests, when he saw both demons fighting. After Hiei shockingly (another shocker) defeated Kurama, he turned his attention to the small king of Reikai.

When Hiei looked at Koenma straight in the eye through the television that Koenma was watching from, the little ruler of Reikai nearly had a heart attack. Hiei _knew _that he was watching him and he even _threatened _that if he ever caught Koenma watching him again, Reikai would lose its only ruler.

Muttering curses under his breath for remembering that day, Koenma began to look for his remote to see what Yusuke was doing and maybe cause him to get in trouble with Keiko again. He didn't want to think about Hiei. It would only then lead to Botan and the two of them together.

He wasn't a stranger to demon courting. He knew that it involved a lot of (shiver) _touching _and_ closeness_. Koenma wished with all his heart that it would stop. That they'd break it off and separate. That Botan would come running to him so that she could stay with him for all eternity. That she would forget all about Hiei and this fling would become some chapter in her afterlife that didn't need to be brought up again. Ever. But it wasn't so and instead of searching for his remote, he began to toy with the idea of using his holy powers for his own purpose.

Unconsciously, he put a little more power into his pacifier.

It would be so easy. And so wrong. But that didn't matter, he was Kami after all. Or at least the son of, who then became ruler after discovering the corruption of his father. But that's another story and Koenma brought his mind back on tract. What if he did use his powers to change Botan? Change the way that she felt about Hiei. That would be selfish and oh so wrong. And temping. But wrong. But it would make him feel less miserable. He could change the direction of her feelings of love to Hiei and aim it at himself.

It was possible. Though it'd require a lot of energy and it'd also look suspicious if all of sudden Botan started to love him instead of Hiei. Koenma brought his hand to his chin and thought. It would be a messy process too. Maybe he could redirect her love to Kurama instead. He trusted the fox demon to take care of Botan more than Hiei. He highly doubted that Hiei even knew how much Botan was special. In the back of his mind, he knew that that judgment came purely out of jealousy.

And he knew that it was wrong. Very wrong. And selfish.

"So what if it's wrong!" Koenma grumbled to himself. Two weeks of suppressing his emotions of what was happening made him to start to think crazy. "And I don't care if it is wrong! I just want it to stop!"

He jumped on top of his desk and puked his pacifier from his mouth and held it high. "It'd be so easy. It'll be back to me and Botan again. Botan and me."

But it was wrong.

So very wrong. Taking away something or at least changing what was natural and making it unnatural. It would be a crime. And Botan was his friend. Probably his best friend and visa versa. He should be happy for her. Happy that she found someone to be with after hundreds of years, but he wasn't. To deny that was like to deny that humans needed to breath in order to live. Because should he continue to deny it, then he'd only fall into the pit of destruction for both him and Botan. Kurama made a perfect example.

Koenma slumped back into his chair. He toyed with his pacifier. Maybe he could use it to destroy Hiei. Or frame him in a crime like killing a ningen so that he could arrest him. Or-

"Koenma-sama!" Jorge burst through the doors with Ayame right behind him.

"What! Can't you see that I'm busy!" Koenma yelled at the ogre.

Jorge halted at the front of his desk and stared at Koenma's baby form playing with the pacifier.

"But Koenma-sama! It's important!"

"Unless demons have invaded Reikai or Ningenkai by the hundreds, then I don't think that it is important. I'm sure that you could take care of it. I have complete faith and total confidence in you," Koenma said even though his tone suggested otherwise but he didn't care. Koenma turned his chair around so that his workers couldn't see him.

"It's about Botan," Ayame stepped up.

Koenma swirled his chair around so fast that he ended up rotating his chair twice. When he finally caught his desk to stop himself, he asked, "What's wrong? Is she hurt? Did Hiei do it?"

Ayame and Jorge looked at each other, silently telling the other to go first.

* * *

Like before but in Makai, Botan found herself in front of Genkai's temple after Hiei teleported them from Makai. The trip was too short for her liking and she wanted to stay with the small demon a little longer. The sun was about to set and Hiei grabbed her and carried her to the roof so they could watch it set.

It was like a dream to Botan. One that she wished would never end. Sitting on the roof, she laid her head on top of his since he was shorter. It didn't matter to her. His shortness only made him look more adorable. It reminded her of a teddy bear. She giggled softly at that thought.

"What's so funny now?" Hiei asked.

"You." She couldn't wipe the smile on her face.

"How so?"

"You," she pinched his cheek, "are just so adorable. Yes you are," she cooed.

Hiei's eye twitched. "Enough onna." He tried to pull away from her pinching fingers but they wouldn't let go. He could feel his cheek turning red from her squeezing. "Onna, let go."

Botan pouted at his glare but reluctantly let go. She didn't want to cause any trouble while they were still in a good mood. But then she saw his small smile and she felt a wave of happiness overcome her. She loved making him smile and would gladly make it her life's purpose to make him smile whenever she could.

"I knew that you liked being called adorable!" She giggled even more when he mouth started twitching. "Alright, I'll stop."

He leered at her. "If you don't then you get your present."

Botan became panicky. "I'll be good! I'll be good!"

He rolled his eyes at her and reached into his hidden pocket and took out an un-blossomed flower. It looked similar to the Aysel that Botan had gotten from before, but the color was pink instead of yellow.

Botan eyed it carefully. "What's it called? Does it only bloom with moonlight?"

"Channary. Yes. Place it with the Aysel. Something worth seeing should happen when it's full moon."

She looked up at him with big, wide eyes. So much like a child. "Really? Like what?

"You'll find out tonight."

"I think that I love it already."

Late that night, Botan finally arrived in her room. Covering up a yawn, she vaguely remembered that she still had her Channary in her hand. Reaching her Aysel, she placed her new flower in the same pot. Then she turned her back to both of the plants and began to change. Just as she was halfway done pulling her shirt over her head, she not only saw bright colors dancing around her room, but heard singing as well. Turning around, she saw that both of her flowers had opened.

Tripping over her feet and fumbling to get her shirt off with one hand and trying to get it back on with the other, she finally made it to look closer at her flowers. The usual yellow demonic flower was giving out colors as always underneath the full moonlight but something was different about it. The colors were moving to the beat of the music provided by the pink one. The Channary was open emitting some type of song. Though Botan couldn't understand what it was, she greatly enjoyed the beat and the show that the other flower was showing.

The singing was at first soft, then it picked up pace and did an up beat song, then just music was produced. All the while, the Aysel stayed in tuned with it; like they were meant to be together. Botan fell asleep listening to the songs.

The next day, Botan woke up to only hear laughter. She rubbed her eyes and saw that her flowers had once again closed up for the lack of moonlight. She sighed and then fell out of bed. "Ow!"

A few minutes later, Botan was dress and ready for the day. When she got downstairs, she was surprised to see Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara already there.

Yusuke was the first to see her. "Well good afternoon sleepy head. I heard that someone didn't come home until late last night. Someone's being breaking curfew." He gave her a mischievous grin which caused Botan to blush.

"Well… I … you see, I … ITS AFTERNOON!" Botan looked outside to see that was indeed late in the afternoon and then looked pleadingly to Yukina. "Did Hiei…?"

Yukina shook her head and smiled reassuringly at the panicking ferry girl. "No, Hiei hasn't come yet."

Botan sighed with relief. But Yusuke wasn't done teasing her yet. He nudged at Kuwabara and said, "Did you hear that Kuwabara? Hiei didn't come early in the morning like he usually does. Maybe he was tired from all the activities that he's done yesterday with you-know-who."

"Yes. Activities such as _that _would leave people _very_ tired." Kuwabara faked mused in a Kurama like fashion.

Both started to laugh hysterically. Botan and Keiko both turned red; the former because of embarrassment and the latter because of anger. Unable to control her anger any longer, Keiko smacked the two men.

"You two are so inconsiderate!" she sat back down and Botan joined her. Both were still red face. "So Botan, tells us what you and Hiei having been up to lately." She glared at the boys.

Botan eagerly told Keiko and Yukina about where's she's been and the present that Hiei gave her. She decided to leave out the part about the conversation she had with Mukuro, but she did tell them of the kiss.

"That is so sweet and romantic!" Keiko gushed. "On the next night when there's a full moon, I want to see the flowers when they bloom. I bet that you can't wait until you see him again."

Botan's heart started to beat faster. "Hai. I really want to thank him for the flower."

Suddenly Yukina got up and bowed apologetically to Botan. "I'm sorry. I forgot that you haven't eaten yet. Let me get you some food. You must be hungry."

"Oh no!" Botan got to her feet. "You don't have to. I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure Botan?" Yukina asked uncertain.

"Yes. Don't trouble yourself over me."

* * *

"Botan? Botan!" Koenma yelled at the screen for the tenth time. No one pick up from the other end of the communicator. Koenma made the volume for the beeping on the other side even higher. Still nothing.

"Damn it!" he slammed his fists onto his desk, causing some of the papers of fly away and Jorge to quickly scramble to catch them. He turned to Ayame and asked, "Are you sure?"

She looked at him solemnly. "Hai."

Koenma pushed a couple of buttons on his remote that he found in his side drawer and then a portal appeared. "Ayame, Jorge."

"Yes sir?" both chorused with Jorge pausing in mid air.

"Prepare the Restoration Room. I want it ready as fast as possible," Koenma said and then went into the portal.

Both of the workers of Reikai looked at one another worriedly.

"Damn it Botan, what have you gotten yourself into?" Koenma muttered to himself. The portal led to the front of Genkai's house.

Once he stepped out, he heard a small crash and people yelling _"Botan!"_

Koenma wasted no time in hurrying inside the house. Once there, he scanned the room and saw Yusuke and Kuwabara trying to figure out what was wrong with Botan who was lying on the floor with an expression of pain on her face, Keiko looking worriedly at her and not knowing what to do, Yukina rushing back into the room wit a bowl and a small folded cloth and Genkai at her heels, and finally Hiei, holding onto Botan's hand. Koenma also saw what the others didn't see; Botan screaming, trying to get away but at the same time, trying desperately to hold on.

"What's wrong with her?" Keiko asked.

No one knew how to answer her.

Hiei growled. He didn't know what to do. Botan's hand clutched tightly with his and her mouth open in a silent scream. "I'm going into her mind."

"No!" Koenma finally stepped in. He made a move to stop the Jagan wielder but it was too late. Hiei's Jagan began to glow and his mind forced its way into the ferry girl's. Botan's mind wasn't what Hiei expected. Inside he saw nothing but chaos of lights.Hefelt pain and heard screaming. Hiei couldn't make out what was being said, but he thought that he heard his name being called over and over again. The sound was too far away to comprehendand getting further. Then Hiei felt Botan's physical body thrashing and someone moving his own in an attempt to stop him from going any further into her mind.

Hiei grinded his teeth. He did not want to leave without first finding out what was causing the onna so much pain.

Outside, Koenma grinded his own teeth. Hiei stubbornly refused to get out of Botan's mind. He needed to know that he was causing more harm than good. Botan's body continued to thrash about. Kuwabara, Keiko and Yukina tried to hold Botan down but she kept moving.

"Hiei! Stop it! You're hurting her even more!" Koenma yelled into his ear.

Hiei didn't budge.

Seeing how Koenma was making sense, Yusuke punched Hiei in the face. "Would you stop! You aren't helping her!"

Hiei blinked, getting back into his mind. Then he growled. "And I suppose that you know what to do!"

Botan's body stopped moving but her face remained the same.

"Genkai, what's wrong with Botan?" Kuwabara asked.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this." Genkai looked over to Koenma. "Whatever it is that you have to do, do it."

Everyone else looked at him, but his eyes stayed focused on Botan and her hand that refused to let go of Hiei's hand.

"Botan," Koenma called to both Botan and his power. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her a little. His hands glowed with a golden color and went inside Botan. "Botan. Botan, do you hear me?"

Botan opened her eyes. They were cloudy and yet, the message of pain was written all over them. Her mouth started to slowly move and a small voice said, "Hiei…"

"I'm right here onna," Hiei held on to her hand tighter and tried to move Koenma so that she could see him, but Koenma wouldn't move.

"Hiei… Hiei…"

"Move Koenma!" Hiei snapped.

Koenma ignored him. "Botan, you must listen to me. Let go."

Botan shook her head. Her mouth mouthed, _no. _

"Botan, you have to," Koenma pressed on.

She shook her head again and Hiei felt her griping onto his hand as if it was her only hope. "Koenma, she said no! Is there another way to help her?"

"Botan, you have to let go," Koenma said sternly. He placed his head near hers.

"Botan, maybe you do as he says," Keiko said, frighten for her friend.

Tears started streaming down Botan's eyes while refusal told Koenma his answer.

"Let go," Koenma said more firmly this time. "Botan, you have to let go." His hands glowed brighter, causing everyone but Keiko to squint. Yukina and Hiei had to look away because of the holy power that radiated off of him.

As if heeding to Koenma's power, Botan let go of Hiei's hand. She let go of what she was holding on to. As a result, her body turned to dust and her soul was free.


	16. Botan

AN: YAY! School is over, my on line course ened two days ago, I finished baby-sittingmy little cousin, and I finally have free time to wirte and update! Sorry to keep you all waiting so long. Originally I had more to write, but it would have taken at least a couple of more days until I updated.Oh and,for now, I will stop writing comments to every single reviewer because there isjust too much of all of you.It doesn't mean that Iam notthankful for all of you, it's just that it puts a lot of workon me.

Explanations will be more in depth in the next chapter. Thank you and enjoy!

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* * *

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**Botan**

'What happened? Where am I?' Botan thought to herself.

She uncurled herself from a ball that she had formed herself into. It was strange that she didn't feel the need to stretch herself after being in such a tight position for who knows how long. But she felt relaxed, as if all her troubles were gone, slipped out of her hands like water. She felt refreshed, content, warm, and something else. Never before had she felt so… well to put it simply, _free. _

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had felt this kind of freedom before. It was laced in her very soul. She just couldn't seem to remember when. In fact, now that she thought about it, she didn't remember anything at all. This too was strange. But Botan didn't think much about it. Maybe her memories will return over time. Or maybe they won't. She didn't want to think about it because then it would spoil this wonderful feeling of freedom that she was trying to enjoying.

The familiarity of this feeling didn't bother her either. Nor did the fact that the only thing she remembered was her name, Botan. Maybe that wasn't her real name. Who knows? Who cares? For now, not Botan. If that even was her real name.

Botan took a good look at the room that she was currently in. Sliding doors located in the very front, a box that looked like a panel a few feet away from her, and some white light bathing her form. This room didn't look familiar. She looked down at herself to see what she was wearing. She saw her birthday suit.

Oddly enough, this didn't upset her. The thought that another person, mainly a male, could walk into the room and see her without any clothes on didn't upset her. She found it really strange that she didn't feel embarrassed, distress, or nervous. Again, who cares? This sense of freedom might never come again. The feeling of her burdens being lifted, of no worries, cares, or anything replaced everything that was once there and left her with contentment. It wasn't perfect happiness, but it was the next best thing.

The next thing Botan noticed was that she was floating in the light. She looked down, trying to see the ground, but couldn't find it. The light was in the way. It could be an inch away or a few feet down. She couldn't tell. Then she looked at the door again and saw that the top was about even level with her eyes. Though she didn't really trust her eyes because the whole room was white clean, as well as the light, so there was chance that there was no floor.

Then how could you explain the floating, light, lost of memories, and the nakedness?

Maybe she was dead.

Botan thought hard about this new possibility. "It could be true," she said to herself. After all, there were many, many stories of what happens when a person dies. Like a person losing all of their memories (check), having the ability to float in the air (well, she was floating, but it could be the light playing tricks on her), becoming transparent (missing that), gaining ghostly powers (so far nothing), and the list goes on. Anything was possible.

"I think that I'm dead," Botan said out loud. Again, the thought didn't faze her. It amazed Botan that something as big as being dead didn't bother her. Maybe she was a strong person, the kind of person that everyone looked to for emotional support. Pride welled up inside her. She liked that, a strong person.

She could imagine it. All of her friends coming to her for advice or to just talk to her to get a load off their shoulders. Blank, faceless people gather in a crowd just to talk to her. And for some reason, she saw herself doing most of the talking instead of the other way around. Now that was really odd.

"Maybe I give a little too much advice?" Botan mused to herself. "Or maybe people just like to listen to me talk. I must be popular!" she giggled to herself.

She closed her eyes with even more content. Things were looking good. Then her face scrunched up, as if she was in a bad dream.

* * *

_Are you sure Botan?_

Who was that? It sounds….. Familiar.

_Yes. Don't trouble yourself over me. _

That was me! That second person was me! I know it was! It sounded like me!

_It looks like Botan here has a lot more of a love life in the past two weeks than you ever did in your whole life!_

_Hey! I do too have a love life!_

_Riiight._

So familiar.

_Would you stop picking on him! I swear that I'll– _

_I bet you that you won't even lose your virginity by the time you're 25._

_You're on!_

_Yusuke! You are such a jerk!_

Yusuke. I know him! And the others…

_Ow! Keiko! That hurts!_

Keiko. And that means that the others must be Kuwabara and Yukina.

_Botan, your usual visitor is here._

Genkai. I remember. I turned around. I wanted to see him. I wanted to thank him. I wanted to smile at him. But mostly, I just wanted to see him. But I didn't see his blood red eyes. I didn't see him at all. Why didn't I see him? Why?

I wanted to so much.

_Botan! _

That was everyone. I didn't see him. But I felt him. He was near. I remember holding on to him. I didn't want to let go. Never wanted to let go. If I did…

Then pain. A lot of pain. I can't move. Everything is on me. It's too heavy. I remember, I can't move. Couldn't move. I don't want to do this any more. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to rest. I wanted this weight off of me. But I wanted to stay even more.

To be with him and finish what we started.

_No! _

Koenma.

**_Hiei! Hiei! Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei_** **_Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei! _**

It was like a mantra. Over and over I called out to him. I felt him enter my mind. I wanted him to help me. It was getting worst.

_**Help me! Hiei!**_

Why wasn't he helping me? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Like a mantra. Everything was turning out like mantra going over and over and over again. I just wanted it to stop.

_**Hiei, help me! Don't leave me!**_

**Botan. **

There's golden light. This presence. I know it. It feels….

**Botan, do you hear me?**

…not like Hiei. I wanted Hiei! Not Koenma! Hiei!

**_Hiei! Hiei! Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei_** **_Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei Hiei! Hiei! Hiei! Hiei! Hiei! Hiei!_**

The mantra continues.

He's still here! Hiei is still here! I can barely feel him but he's still here!

**Let go.**

No! I won't let go! If I do, he'll go away. I'll go away. I don't want to leave him! I don't want to leave him alone! No! No!

**_No! No! No! No! No! No! No!_**

**Let go.**

_**No!**_

Kami, it hurts. Why can't he just leave me alone? Why can't it all just leave me alone! Why can't he see what I want? I just want to be with Hiei!

**Botan, you have to let go.**

The light got stronger. Brighter. I couldn't struggle anymore. I didn't want to either. It was getting harder. So much harder. The need for rest and sleep that I've been avoiding so much has finally caught up with me.

Maybe I wasn't such a strong person after all. I never was. I wasn't even a good fighter. I tired. So very tired. Rest. That's what I needed.

So I let go. I let go of Hiei.

Something fell down my eye. It slowly traveled down my cheek and to the corner of my mouth. It was a tear.

"Hiei."

* * *

Her head was buried. Somehow, the room's whiteness had ceased and the light was no longer there. The once floorless room gained a floor and Botan was sitting in the middle of it, somehow wearing a pink kimono. The same one that she usually wore when ferrying spirits. A trace of one lone tear that fell was visible on her cheek. She was curled into a ball and didn't know how long she stayed there.

Time knew no meaning in Reikai. She knew for certain that she was in Reikai. The feel of it screamed out to the very core of her soul that she was back. That she may be back for good. But she refused to believe that it was so. She stilled had her courtship with Hiei going on. She could ask Koenma for a new body since her old one was no longer suitable or capable or use. It probably burned off or turned to dust. If it wasn't any these, Koenma would have done it himself.

If any evil spirit or demon got a hold of a body that was once used as a vessel for a holy being such as a ferry girl, than Reikai could be in trouble. There was enough power in there for a demon to cause Reikai chaos for a month in Ningenkai time. Though the demon had to know about that little fact first and then know how to tap into the power. Chances of that were slim to none, but Reikai took no chances. A month of disorder was enough to throw half of the dead ningen spirits that ferry girls collected into oblivion.

But Botan worried not of these things because the door of the room slid open. Botan quickly stood up, wiped away the trail of the tear, and plastered on a smile. Her fake smile immediately turned real when she saw who it was.

"Hiei!" It was like waking up from a dream for Botan. Hiei was there. Alive and breathing. She didn't notice the emotionless face that he had on or the cold air that surrounded him. If she did, she didn't care. So she ran to him and prepared to hug him with all that she was worth.

If she had been paying attention to the way Hiei looked, she would have seen that her hug would not have been welcomed. Hiei held out his arms and stopped the overjoyed ferry girl from hugging him. But he didn't have to because she was currently a spirit and had no body to hug him with. So she went through him. Botan blinked and turned around to face him.

He looked blankly into her eyes. It gave her a shiver, and not in a good way.

"What's wrong Hiei?"

"You didn't tell me."

Botan looked away from him and laughed nervously. "Did Koenma tell you?"

"You should have told me. You knew what you should have done and yet you did not do it. Why?"

Hiei narrowed his eyes at her. Botan looked down. "I'm sorry. I didn't think that it would have this kind of effect." _So soon._

"That's right. You didn't think," he sneered at her. "This is why you are the baka onna. You don't think at all."

"But Hiei," her voice came out teary, just like her eyes.

"But what?" he snapped.

"I just wanted to be with you!" Why couldn't he see that?

"But you can't. Because he told me what would happen."

Everything stilled for her. Her thoughts, her non-existing breathing, this moment.

"W-What? What do you mean I can't?" Her eyes were wide with disbelief and denial. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a small voice was asking, what would happen? But it was so very small, and so very faint. The only thing that processed into her mind was the first sentence that Hiei said.

_**No! No! No! No! No!**_

The mantra played in her head.

"Our courtship is over."

Then he walked past her. She couldn't move. Couldn't speak or to call out to him. To ask why. He didn't stop. He walked out the door. And then tears started rolling down her eyes, because spirits too can cry.


	17. I'm sorry

AN: Okay, from this point on, and I guess from the last two chapters, it's going to be slightly AU. I could see some of the readers turn away from my fic now. Some of you had theories of what happened to Botan, and some of them play a role in this. Though they are not exactly right, but a close enough guess. Well, hope you all enjoy.

* * *

**I'm sorry**

"Wha– What the hell just happened, Koenma?" Yusuke yelled at the king of Reikai. He just witnessed one of his dearest and closest friends collapse and then turned to dust. To say that he was confused was an understatement.

Koenma just bowed his head and sighed. Yusuke looked at Koenma then to Hiei and then to the pile of dust that was once Botan, all the while a noise of exasperation was building at his throat and threatened to explode. Yukina looked at her brother with sympathy and confusion. She had no clue as to what was going on, and from the look on her brother's face, neither did he. She never saw the expression on his face before. It was emotionless and yet, grief had worn fine, thin, invisible lines on his perfect face that only she saw.

But there was something else too. Something unnamed, something that Yukina couldn't place. It wasn't exactly heartbreaking or depressing. It was just some form of anger that was sad. Yukina stepped closer to her twin and took his hand. What surprised her most was that he took his hand away and stepped away from her. Yukina gasped from his sudden movements and uncharacteristic behavior, getting Kuwabara's attention.

"Hey Shorty! She was only trying to comfort you," Kuwabara growled, standing by Yukina's side and placing an arm out in front of her as if her brother would attack her any second.

Continuing his uncharacteristic behavior, Hiei turned his back on Kuwabara. He didn't even make a growl at Kuwabara as an explanation for his actions or for being so close to Yukina.

Finally, not being able to take all the secrecy, Yusuke exploded. "Will someone just please tell us what the hell is happening! Hiei is acting strange for obvious reasons, Botan has turned to dust for unobvious reasons, and I have a feeling that _you _know what the hell is going on!" he pointed to Koenma. "So why don't you start?"

Silence was the answer that Yusuke got.

"Geez, where's Kurama when you need him?" Yusuke muttered. This caused a growl from Hiei. Yusuke blinked.

"Yusuke," Keiko hissed and grabbed his ear.

Ignoring Yusuke's yelps of pain, Koenma said, "If you all want to know then come with me to Reikai." He went outside and looked up to see Ayame flying away with Botan. Then he went into the portal that he had Jorge make, knowing that everyone would follow.

Stepping out of the portal and into his office, Koenma went straight for his desk and pressed a few buttons. Several chairs appeared just as everyone got in. Koenma noticed that Genkai didn't come, so there was one chair left unsettled when everyone sat. Even Hiei sat down on a chair when he usually leaned on a wall. Koenma waited for a few moments for everyone to settle and for Ayame to signal to him that she was done.

Keiko, Yukina, and Kuwabara looked around the office with interest for they had never been there before. They were a bit disappointed to see that it wasn't as grand as they all thought it would be. It looked plain, and if they didn't know better, they would have thought that it belong to any human back in Ningenkai.

A beeping noise turned their attention back to Koenma. He pressed a button and Ayame's voice followed suite. "Koenma-sama, she settled in the RR."

"Good," Koenma replied. He let go of the button and took a deep breath. "Do you know that less than ten percent of all ferry girls are ningen souls?"

"So? What does that have to do with Botan?" Yusuke asked impatiently.

"What I'm trying to say is, Botan used to be alive."

Yusuke just looked at him like he was an idiot. "Again, so? I always thought that she once was alive. But again, what does that really have to do with Botan?"

"Yusuke be patient. If you stop interrupting him, he can get on with his point," Keiko chided. She was on edge. Looking at the room, she saw that everyone was on edge as well, but to a certain point.

"I don't think that you get the implications with this. Wait– forget that, I know that you all don't understand this. But Yusuke, you should at least understand a little bit of what's going on. You died once; or twice if you count that time when Sensui beat you to a pulp."

"Hey! He didn't beat me to a pulp!" Yusuke protested.

Koenma ignored him. "Botan was _human _once. That means that she was once was alive. Since then, she has been working as a ferry girl. Over time, she has climbed up the latter and became top ferry girl. A couple of years ago, she was given an assignment that I am starting to regret giving."

"You're stalling," Hiei said. It was the first thing that he said since it happened. Everyone looked at him and tried to figure out what was going on in his mind.

Yusuke smirked. He looked at Koenma with one of those expressions that he usually had on before he went into a difficult fight. "Hiei's right. Quit stalling with the historical facts and start explaining."

Koenma's eye twitched slightly. "Well excuse me but I never had to explain this kind of thing before. This is the first time that it's happened. Well, maybe not the first time, but it is the first time that explanations had to be made. So forgive me if I don't know where to start," he snapped. "Now, as you all know I can revive the dead."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a snap for you. Please don't go all high and mighty about it," Yusuke said.

"Well that's where you are wrong Yusuke," Koenma pointed at him to stress his point. "It's not as easy as it looks or sounds. Reviving the dead takes a lot of energy. You should know that Yusuke. Its not like I could just snap my fingers and a dead person becomes living. A lot of factors have to be taken into consideration. Like the body has to intact for the soul to be housed in, the soul has to be in the immediate area of the body, I have to have enough energy for it, and so on."

"But you didn't revive Botan," Kuwabara said. "She told me that you gave her a body to borrow so that we could better see her or something like that."

"That's just my point! I didn't revive her. There's a difference between revival and lending a body. Did you ever wonder why I just didn't revive her when I assigned her as your assistance?"

"Ah, no," Yusuke said. "Never even gave it a thought."

"Typical of you. Well the reason is because her body is gone."

"You mean like decomposed?" Keiko guessed.

"Exactly. Her body had over 700 years of decomposition." Yusuke whistled at the length of time. "So you can see that her body would no longer be intact. That and add to the fact that it is your custom to burn the dead so Botan's body was turned into ashes and then buried."

"No body, no revival," Kuwabara mused in a Kurama like fashion.

"Right. But Botan can use a body that Reikai has made for her. However, there are draw backs to it, mostly because she once was alive and because it wasn't her natural body to begin with. When Kuwabara said borrow, it literally meant borrow."

"The body was a loan?" Yusuke asked with surprised. Everyone else had a similar expression.

"Yes. Botan knew that with a body came some rules that she had to follow. Like to not tell anyone that she's dead, works for Reikai, about demons, and all the usual stuff. But there was something else that was important. Vital to her very soul," Koenma said as if foreboding.

"Why do I get the feeling that something philosophical is about to come up?" Yusuke whined.

Keiko glared at him.

"Unfortunately for you Yusuke, this will get a little philosophical," Koenma said more to the rest and not to Yusuke. "It is well known that when a person dies, their souls have the chance to rest. That is if they are good of course. For a human soul to become a ferry girl, they have to have a pure, yet strong, heart. To be able to sympathize with the recently departed, to not pity them or show sadness for them. They have to be able to take the dead's whining and tears about being dead. Most could also be face scorn, as if it's their fault that the person is dead."

"Gee Koenma, don't you think that you're asking for a bit too much?" Yusuke asked.

"No," he answered. "This is exactly the reason why so few ferry girls are ningen souls. This isn't a job to be taken lightly. The fact that Botan was able to climb the latter to top ferry girl, with most of her memories intact no less, is quite a feat. So I assumed that her helping you with his work would be no problem for her. It would also give her a chance to walk with the living again."

"Explain the draw back that Botan didn't follow," Hiei said when Koenma went silence for a few moments.

"She didn't rest," Koenma said, not looking at them.

"What? That's it? Not resting? What kind of draw back is that?" Yusuke said flabbergasted.

"It's not so little a thing as you think!" Koenma slammed his fist in his desk. The others were startled at this. "The body requires energy to function. To give off warmth, to become hungry, to give away waste, and all the others that make a person _feel_ alive. The soul works hard to just _stand_. I'm sure that you've all felt the pressure that life brings on you. Sometimes it feels like a heavy weight is on your shoulders, a burden that only you can bear, ne? Or like there is no one who could help you ease the pain?"

Keiko, Kuwabara, and Yusuke nodded their heads with understanding and slight uncertainty. Yukina gave a small nod and Hiei continued on with his emotionless face.

"For Botan, the weight is not on her shoulders but everywhere. It's like the very gravity is pressing down on each and every part if her."

"Wow,"" Yusuke said with awe. He was impressed with what Botan had to go through everyday. While he had his share of burdens, he always had someone to back him up or someone who was just there for him. Botan had no one to help her with this, just herself. Even if he did know about this before hand, it still all went down to what Botan wanted. And nothing was going to keep her away from her friends for long.

"Hai. This is why she had never really spent more than three or four days straight with all of you. This is something that's going to affect you too Hiei," Koenma looked at him with sympathy. "When she rests…. Her soul is taken out of the body and the body is, well, disappears like evaporated water for a lack of a better term. Or in other words, the body dies. Because Botan didn't take any rest for who knows how long, her body stopped working and she strained her soul. Right now she is in a recovery room, specially made for restoring souls."

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with Hiei?" Kuwabara asked confused.

"When demons mate, their hearts and bodies are connected. When one of them dies, it's like a stab to the one living. Rage, depression, withdrawal – all symptoms from a dead mate," Yukina said. Understanding was in her eyes as she looked at her brother. "That's why most demons don't mate. If one of them dies, it's hard to recover. Many choose the scented way of mating instead; mating by sex to reproduce with no attachments."

"In very rare cases, if the bond between two mates is so deep that they can feel one another, then if one dies, the other dies with them," Koenma added. "That kind of bond is almost impossible to come by."

"So if Hiei and Botan are courting…." Keiko left off, trying to make a connection.

"If the two of them mate, and Botan takes her rest, then Hiei will go crazy," Koenma said deadpan. "With Botan alive one moment and then dead the next, the continuation of it would drive even the mentally strongest to insanity."

"So the two of them don't mate. Nothing wrong with that," Yusuke said as if the would solve of their problems.

Hiei chuckled, which soon turned into laughter. It was bitter and almost nasty. It wasn't a nice laugh. "This is how little you understand of our ways Urameshi."

Everyone sat in stun silence as Hiei got up and left in a languid pace.

Finally, Yusuke found his voice and started to work his jaw. "What the hell was that about? _'This is how little you understand of our ways Urameshi.' _What does that mean? Who does he think he is? And it figures that he'd go running off, not even bothering to explain."

Yusuke waited for a moment. When nobody said anything, he turned to Kuwabara expectedly. "Well? Aren't you going to add anything to that?"

Kuwabara didn't look at him. Instead he held his gaze to the door that Hiei walked through. "No. Somehow, I got this feeling that Hiei's going to do something stupid."

* * *

Yusuke understood so little about demons. If there was one thing that Yusuke should know about demons, Hiei thought bitterly, then it should be how strongly demons feel. He himself was part demon, he should know it instinctively. It was in the way that he stuck close to friends and his lover.

Ferry girls and demons working for Reikai made big spaces for him as he walked by. They didn't want to get in the way and be killed or hurt by his speed, strength, and rumored temper. They could feel his aura jammed tight within himself, and they didn't want to find themselves on the receiving end when it unleashes. Luckily for them, Hiei didn't need to ask for directions to where Botan was.

Botan.

The thought of her made Hiei's heart clench. Hiei had always thought of demons of being superior to humans. Every skill that they possessed was stronger; naturally or unnaturally. Demons were stronger, faster, and all five senses were sharper. Some were uglier than normal and others could be devastating beautiful. But one thing that sets demons apart from humans was their emotions. They ran far deeper than ningens.

When a demon was angry, all hell was loose until the revenge has come upon those who had did the wrong. Anger burns bright with hatred. When they were sad, some could be so melodramatic that they drag all those around to share in their experience. Their need to become stronger can be incomparable. Their determination for a goal can go on forever, loyalties undying, and Kami help the poor unfortunate fools who are on the wrong side of a demon's greed and/or thirst for a kill.

Sometimes, a demon's emotion would be thought of as insanity by ningens. Their emotions run so deep that most preferred to close them off, knowing what could happen if any was let loose. Hence the origin of the popular thought that emotion was for the weak.

But when a demon loves, a demon _loves. _They cared and loved with an unspeakable passion. Everything they had was given. The heart was given. Recovery from rejection can be hard to find. That is why most didn't undergo the traditional way of courting. And when rejection was indeed the case, then either death or complete separation of everything that is touched to what is shared is to be chosen. Rejection never had pretty results.

Botan was the easiest person for Hiei to choose. Because she was–

Hiei stopped. He was already in front of the door to the room where she was.

* * *

Hours had passed. Yusuke and the rest had long left Reikai. Koenma sat on his chair and waited. He seemed to be doing a lot of that.

Always waiting.

For years, he waited for Botan to show some sign that she care for him other than a friend type of way. When she appeared to not have grown any romantic interest in him, and when he finally decided to make some type of move showing what he really felt, Hiei came along and took her away.

But now that their courtship would surely come to an end, maybe Koenma didn't have to wait for as long as he originally thought. He'll give her all the time that she needs or wants for her to recover. He'd give her anything. And maybe, just maybe, she might feel something for him.

Granted that Koenma was sad with all that was happening, but he couldn't help feel a small giddiness that resided deep within his heart. Because now he had a chance. Anticipation also welled in his heart. Sadness mixed with hope swirled and floated in his heart. He was torn between wanting to feel sad for Botan (and maybe Hiei) and wanting to believe in a possible future for the ferry girl and himself.

When his door opened, his feeling turned empty. His long years of waiting would continue. A small part of him wondered if he would be waiting for the rest of his days for something that might never happen.

A red-eyed Botan wearily sank into a chair in from of him. Everything from her hair to her clothes and to her posture screamed heartbroken. She bowed her head so low that her lifeless bangs covered them and gave her the appearance of having no eyes at all. Her lips trembled and Botan bit her lip hard so that they wouldn't shake.

Koenma said the only thing that came into his mind. To who it was for, he didn't know. For him or for Botan, it was a mystery.

"I'm sorry."


	18. Sometimes doing something stupid is fun

meme – Please don't shoot me with your bow and arrows. But their courtship is over and it won't start back up again. (hides behind a huge boulder) Please don't shoot me!

Vindiya – Was it really heart breaking? I did try my best to make it sad and dramatic. As for them being back together, you'll just have to wait and see.

botan's horse – Did you really almost cry? Hope you had tissues then. Don't worry, Hiei won't kill himself. And that wasn't a copy of Hiei in chapter 16. It was actually the continuation of where it left off in chapter 17. so it was the real Hiei.

Suntiger – So have you figured it out yet? But there's still a little bit more that you may have already figured out.

Ryukotsusei – Thank you. I'm trying my best to update fast.

Crystal Koneko – Hai. Big problems. But I'm sure that our favorite couple will find a way to overcome this predicament. Eventually.

Dragon Tamer103088 – Well, there is something that Koenma could do. I think. But he won't really do anything until the end. But whether it's for the good of Hiei and Botan is left to be unseen.

Ellamr – ""Hello! Its really sad!Ah "Botan was the easiest person for Hiei to choose. Because she was- what?"" That part will be left for later. Yes, Hiei will get depressed. Mukuro and Kurama will still be in the story. And that's so cool that you're from Brazil! What is your language called? Sorry for my ignorance. Thank you for reading my story. And I don't know about the new episodes of YuYu. As far as I knew, the creator stopped writing new stuff on it. So I really don't know. But I do know that he is planning on redrawing all the mangas. Mukuro and Hiei with a child? NO!

Hiei's Ice Maiden – You think that this is happy? Wow. I thought this was supposed to be a drama fic. Unless you don't like Hiei and Botan. But you write and read Hiei and Botan fics. Me confused.

Ookami Otome – What man? Who knows what's going on in that cute head of Hiei's?

Robin Autumn – Aww. I hope that the last chapter could put them back together. But that won't be for a while.

RitSuYue – Thank you. I tried my best in explaining everything.

Keira – It will be… a good ending. Well, I like it. It's okay for you to think and write at the same time. It lets me know what the readers really think and I could make adjustments when needed. Thank you.

Hiei's Kat – Thank you. I tired my best.

tuathafaerie – Someone noticed Kuwabara's sixth sense! He's not a complete idiot! Even Yusuke agrees. He said so in the manga! Sorry. I just hate it when I see fanfics where Kuwabara can't even spell his own name. That's away OOC. He may be slow witted and not easy on the eyes like Kurama, but he isn't stupid! And Hiei won't really be looking for a way to stop her dying. You'll find out why.

LoudMouth0920 – I'm trying my best to update sooner! And thank you.

Kitty Kat – You would what? I will finish this. And thank you for all of your compliments/little next to none criticism. Did you really stay up to the wee hours of the morning? Thank you again.

Hiei'sgirl13 – It's okay if you took a little while to review. How was Chicago? If you're confused, just tell me and I'll try my best to explain everything for you, okay?

The Hell I'm Telling U – Thank you.

Caecuslupa – Somehow, they CAN be together. Solution one: Hiei dies and his soul doesn't go to hell. Solution two: Koenma gives Botan permission to reincarnate herself and begin life again. But with a big chance of falling in love with someone else. Solution three: …. You'll find out. But it all depends on certain people. and it's still the same problem if Botan uses the body of someone else who died. It's not her natural body. Plus, what about the people who knew the person of the body that she's using? And thank you for reading.

Miss Kyoshi – I'm trying to updating soon.

Jelly-to-the-Bean – No evil monkeys! I'm trying to update soon.

kahel09 – Thank you.

hatami – Trying to update soon.

tsukigana – Yes Botan is still a ferry girl. Hiei is off somewhere in Makai being a demon.

Kitsune Kit – Botan and Hiei will not be courting again. Sorry. And yes, poor Botan.

wolfie – I am writing. And thank you.

* * *

**Sometimes being stupid is fun**

"You told them," Botan said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Hai." Koenma moved with discomfort in his sit. He didn't like the fact that he indirectly helped lead to Botan's pain.

"What am I going to do now?" Botan moaned and buried her face in her hands.

Koenma moved to reach out to her then thought better of it. Time. That's all Botan needed. She needed time. Sometimes Koenma hated being a nice guy.

"Well, you have several choices," Koenma said to fill the silence in the room and did it without thinking. "I could give you an extended vacation where you could just relax. In Ningenkai or Reikai, whichever you prefer. You could go back to work and bury yourself in it. Or you could just…." Koenma stopped at a lost for words.

"Thanks," Botan whispered.

"Stay here….?" Koenma meekly said, feeling stupid.

"Thanks Koenma. Really. I appreciate it. But I think, that I want to be alone right now," Botan said. Her head bent low as she got up.

Koenma's heart went out to her and steeled himself when he saw a tear drop fall from her eyes. Sometimes Koenma hated being ruler of Reikai.

"Wait, Botan."

"Koenma please. I just want to be alone." Her messy bangs covered her eyes and her mouth made a heartbreaking smile.

Half of Koenma wanted to do as she asked. His heart almost blurted out that she can go. That she could leave. Whatever made her happy. But he couldn't. Because he was a king. Because that's what good rulers do. Leniency could only go so far. Even if it was the first offence, she was still top ferry girl and should know better than to do something so stupid.

So Koenma had to do what he was about to do. Sometimes he hated being a king.

"I'm sorry Botan but this can't wait."

Botan slumped back into her chair. "What do you want?"

Koenma noted that her voice was low, sad, and impatient. She _really _wanted to get out of the office. He took a deep breathe. "When you agreed to use the body that we provided for you, you knew the terms that went along with it."

"Oh," Botan said in a far away voice. "I'm sorry."

Hidden emotions that were suppressed for far too long bubbled inside of him and came out as anger. "You're sorry?" he said more than asked. His tone made Botan look up at him. "Botan, you worried all of your friends and strained your soul so badly that you needed to go to the Restoration Room because you neglected to give your soul a rest! It could have gotten worst for you! What if I didn't find out about it in time? What then? And don't try to say that you forgot."

Botan closed her open mouth. Koenma continued. "And all you have to say is _sorry_? _Sorry? _Well I'm _sorry _Botan but I just need to know why you did this stupid thing that you've done. You won't even get to visit Ningenkai for at least one ningen day. Not to mention that we _trusted_ you to take care of yourself _and_ the body. I should just put you on probation."

Tears ran down Botan's eyes. Regret instantly washed Koenma's anger away. He couldn't look at her anymore, so he turned away. This isn't what he wanted. He never wanted to be the cause of her tears. And this isn't what she needed. She didn't need to be given the third degree by him. As a ruler, this was a good time for it. As a friend, he should've waited until the pain subtle.

Suddenly he felt like a horrible friend. What the hell did he think he was doing? Botan would never trust him again after this. A good friend would have sympathized.

"You're right."

"Huh?" Koenma snapped out of his own scolding.

"You're right," Botan repeated. "I was stupid for neglecting my soul to get any rest." Koenma flinched. "I was so, so stupid. But I am still sorry. Because I am stupid. I just wanted to spend all the time I could with Hiei. When I first left my body and returned, I couldn't feel the warmth that he gave me when he touched me. I couldn't even make my mind remember the warmth. And I panic and didn't want to have to go through that again. So I stayed. But is that so wrong? To want to stay with someone?"

Koenma looked away from her again. How many times had he not done something and fall way behind in paper work just to spend a few minutes with her? How many times had he ignored his other workers just to continue on a conversation with her about how often she should change the outfit of her kimono or hair length every century?

And he knew the answer to her question because he also did a similar thing. But his consequence was not bad enough to endanger a soul. And there lies the difference. It's just too bad she'll never know. She'll never have the companionship the desire to want to stay with someone.

Sometimes it sucked to be him.

"No. It's not wrong," Koenma answered. "It's just… you have to be willing to pay the price. And if the price is worth it. It really isn't about if the desire is right or wrong."

There. Something to make Koenma feel his worth. A small, tiny flicker of hope in her eyes. It went as quickly as it came, but it was there nonetheless.

But what was the hope for?

"Botan, is the vacation that you have right now alright with you?" Koenma asked carefully.

She bit her lip. "I'll think about."

Then she got up and left.

She'll think about it. Koenma weighted the pros and cons to it, all the while hoping that she won't do anything stupid. Again. He wasn't sure if he had the power to spare if she did something really stupid.

What was worst was that he wasn't sure if he'd let himself use a large amount of power on her expense.

* * *

"What do you intend to do now, Hiei?" Mukuro's eerie voice asked.

Takeru watched her carefully from the corner of his eye. He knew about Mukuro's feelings for his Lord, but he wasn't quite sure how she'd react to it. A lot better than he expected that's for sure. He thought that she'd give a lecture on how that that was the consequences for pursuing a relationship with a ferry girl or not say anything at all. He didn't expect her to ask more about the subject.

He chided himself for not giving her much credit. She was after all a demon.

Then again, she was a demon. They handled their emotions differently than elves. And ningens. He shouldn't have compared his kind to theirs or think that they'd respond in the same fashion.

Hiei didn't even flinched when he looked at her in the eye and said, "Continue on with my life."

Takeru saw a brief look of satisfaction on her face. Now that was something that he expected.

"Takeru, leave us."

And that wasn't.

He looked towards Hiei for directions, hoping that he didn't have to leave like Mukuro ordered. He was his overlord's confident. Aside from a couple of people like Kurama, who hasn't been visiting a lot lately, and Yukina, for obvious reasons, and probably Botan too. But Hiei nodded his head and Takeru got up and left.

Sometimes he hated not being a demon.

Hiei made a half smirk at Takeru's resentment for being sent away. The elf was hardly ever sent away and was hardly ever seen not composed. To see him like that was one little up for the day. Though Hiei still had to force his smirk.

Inside he frowned. He wanted to hit something badly. Maybe even kill. Ruining and destroying his bedroom and other parts of Makai didn't give him much satisfactory.

The feeling that he was currently experiencing did not sit well with him either. It was a mixture of emotions. Anger, sadness, resentment, anguish, bitterness, lost. So many emotions and feelings that he didn't think he was capable of overwhelmed him and threatened to consume him. Hatred for the abhorrence sensations tempted him to slash himself deeply just to focus on the physical pain than the tidal waves of the mental ones. Beat his head against rocks and wall didn't help him much either.

Almost anything would be better than this pain that he felt. Shame also wormed its way into his heart. His pride of cutting himself off from weakness that feelings provided was gone. Evaporated. He knew that it would never return. He could recover but will he will always have the stain of being broken and subjected to such petty emotions. It just gave him another reason to get angry. And when there was a large amount of anger, there was deep power boiling inside him that needed to be let loose else he'll explode.

Another reason was that despite all of his feelings and hatred, he still wanted to see her. The baka onna that still plagued his mind and refused to leave his heart. A renewed disgust for ningens went along with it. If Botan had been a demon, this wouldn't be happening. He should have known better.

But he was weak and needed to find a mate to calm his raw nerves that demanded a woman. And he just had to go and care deeply for someone that now he had to pay the price. Heartbreak was a bitch.

"I need to kill something," he announced.

"I was waiting for you to say that," Mukuro said.

"Let's train. I need to let off some steam." He got up and cracked his neck. "It's getting dull mourning something that the fates didn't want."

"I didn't know that you believed in fate," Mukuro lead him outside. "I didn't know that you mourned either."

Hiei fell into step with her. "I don't."

"To both?"

He didn't miss a beat. "To both."

_But you do grieve. _

Hiei mentally scowled. Grief and mourn were the same. If he didn't mourn than he didn't grieve. It wasn't an either or.

_But it is. To mourn is to express grief. To grieve is to sorrow or cause harm._

**So you're saying I was the cause of all of this?**

_You made her cry. Hurt her._

**She was the one who did it first.**

_And in turn, hurt yourself. _

Hiei couldn't believe that he was arguing with himself. He was getting as bad as humans. He forced the voice inside his head to be silent. It took a little while but he finally had some sort of peace in his mind, even if it was from himself. Outwardly he scowled. A nearby demon fled from him.

"You're going to scare everyone from here," Mukuro commented.

"And that would be a bad thing?"

"Only if you want them to be apart of your army."

"There'll always be more to have as solders."

The rest of the walk to their special training grounds was silent. Once there, Hiei immediately took out his sword and leapt towards Mukuro. She blocked him and jumped backwards. Rage boiled inside Hiei. Running at an incredible speed helped soothe him. Rising his sword to cut Mukuro in half made him feel more alive. She dodged the incoming blow.

It didn't matter to him that he missed her. They still had the rest of the day. This after all, was what he lived for. Fighting to the death or until one or both of them could no longer stand. The feel, scent, and taste of blood. No fear of consequences. This is what he should have been doing for the past two weeks or so. The trill of battle and desire to become stronger. That is what he needed out of life. And his sister too. Nothing more, nothing less.

Getting lost in what he would almost call a dance with Mukuro, Hiei didn't think about Botan. And that's just the way he preferred.

* * *

Botan sighed to herself. She was sick of crying. But the more she willed herself to stop crying, the more the tears came running down her cheeks. Never had she ever cry this much. Then again, never had she ever experience heartbreak. Botan put her hand on her mouth to hold back a snob.

She really didn't like crying.

She also recently didn't like gossiping.

Because the funny thing about spirits, they never were one to be totally silent. She could hear whispers and glances thrown her way. It just made her heart break even more.

"Did you hear?"

"About Botan and what's his name?"

"I heard that it was Hiei."

"…. Botan ….. Hiei …."

"I thought that he hated ningens."

"He doesn't even work for Koenma-sama!"

Botan got up from her fetal position and left. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to not think. She not wanted to be reminded of Hiei. She just needed to be alone and cry. Once she found a seclude spot, Botan sat down and let the tears fall. She was tired of fighting them to stay inside. And then against her will and her mind screaming no, her heart decided to reminiscence about the past weeks.

The way that Hiei touched her when he corrected on a position or move….

The way that his skin felt so warm….

The way that his eyes were so red and when he looked at her with them….

Botan shivered. She remembered when she tripped and fell when she running to catch up him when he was mad at her. She still got to hug him. Then he forgave her for a stupid mistake that she made. Guilt and shame washed over her. It seemed that all she had been doing lately was do stupid things. And all she did for them was apologize.

She really was a baka onna. She didn't deserve him. He needed someone better than her. Someone who could fight, who didn't need protection, and who wasn't a baka. He didn't need her. She was just a burden who couldn't fight and she was once a human. She'd be housed in a ningen body even if she did miraculously get back together with him. And then she'd be faced with scorn by other demons and others who would want to eat her. Not many would respect her for who she was because she a ferry girl. One who work for Reikai who taught people who to fight them. To kill them.

Nothing good would come out of a relationship with him.

And despite all of it, she knew that she loved him.

The half breed fire demon who couldn't muster up a smile for anything unless he was in a fight or it was for Yukina. The wielder of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame who had the biggest ego she ever saw when it came for asking help or admitting that he was weak. Hiei, who loved ice cream and to which he fondly called sweet snow. The person who would do anything for Yukina because she was his sister. And more than that, his twin.

"There you are," Ayame said coming up to Botan. "I've been looking all over for you. Are you alright?" Ayame had been looking for her friend for a while. When she heard all the gossip and rumors flying around Botan, she was delayed because she had to put a stop to it.

"I miss him," Botan whispered.

"What?"

"I miss him," Botan repeated. Tears welled in her eyes. "I did something stupid didn't I?"

Ayame hugged her. She loved the blue hair ferry girl dearly. It hurt to see her close friend in pain. It hurt to see Koenma in pain because of Botan's pain. She was there when Hiei left Reikai. Ayame could tell that he was hurt even though he face was emotionless. There was just so much pain.

"Did your heart tell you to do what you did?" Ayame stroked Botan's back as comfort.

"Yes." Botan almost choked on her snob.

Ayame pulled Botan away so that the other girl could see her eyes. "Then you did nothing stupid. Following your heart is not stupid. Do you understand Botan?"

Botan nodded her head and then went back into Ayame's arms for comfort. It was nice to have a friend in a time of need.

"What should I do now Ayame?" Botan asked quietly when the tears finally stopped following.

"What does your heart say?"

Botan searched for what her heart wanted. "I want to see him."

"Then you should go see him."

"I don't have a body."

"I'll contract a body for you."

"You'd really do that?" Botan asked hopefully.

"Of course."

"Thank you Ayame!" Botan hugged the other woman tightly. "I'm going to see him. I don't care if I have to wait all week but I want to see him. I have to see him. I have to talk to him. I can't just sit here and cry anymore!" Determination was set in her eyes. Nothing would stop her. Whatever price she had to pay, she knew that it had to be worth it. It just had to be. Nothing else was acceptable.

"Then wait two ningen days," Ayame informed her as she got up. "It'll take me that long to build another body for you and I don't think that Koenma-sama should know about it just yet."

"Hai," Botan agreed. She sniffed a bit, feeling better. She was going to see him again. Then everything will be better again. There was hope.


	19. Nice to see you

**AN: **I updated early this time. Yay for me! The reason I updated early is because I'm going on vacation and won't be back until the 28. And when I come back, I have summer homework that I have to finish. So that means no other new updates until some time in September. And I don't have that much time so I'll respond to the reviews that really caught my attention.

Ryukotsusei – You're right. Hiei's reaction when he sees Botan won't be a happy one. Come on, this is Hiei we're talking about here.

Vindiya – Hiei is not confused on who he loves. He knows who he loves but he's using Mukuro as a distraction so that he could forget about Botan.

tuathafaerie – I've always thought that they put Kuwabara as a comic relief. But you have a good point too. Because of his lack of knowledge, he is a good way to better explain something that happens in the series. Since we all can't be as smart as Kurama. And the theories on Botan, well, you're getting to the right place. Like it implies, Koenma will not be dishing out any of his big powers for Botan. He said in the series that he needed to save his powers for when some big war comes on. If Botan lived like Kikyou, Koenma would not allow it. And sorry, there's not really an upturn of events yet. I am not evil.

ellamr – I am not evil! A bit on sadistic side maybe, but not evil! Refreshing is a word. And yes, a little bit more of sad chapters, though this story is ending soon. Maybe three or four chapters to go. And I totally agree with you, all males are bakas. I love Kuzuma too! I hate that many people write that he is a total idiot when he's not! You should read my other fic called My Special Day. It's about Kazuma, but it's really sad. I tired to make all the characters stay as in characters as possible. And it was the Dark Tournament that Botan suggested that thing with Yusuke and Keiko, I think. That's so cool that you speak Portuguese. I never thought that you spoke Spanish. I just didn't which language that you spoke.

lady orheal – Thank you. A KB or YB? That depends if I have any good plots for them. Plus I am a big HB fan. Though I did do some YB in Addressing the Issue. In the first chapter is the center for YB.

Dragon Tamer103088 – Hmm… you have a very interesting question. It is easier to make bodies because it could be classified as a nonliving thing. Have you ever seen Inu Yasha? The bodies of the dead were made of clay, but the person had to be fed other souls in order to remain living. But because the body that Botan is using isn't made out of clay and she isn't using other souls to sustain her (mainly because Koenma would not allow it), she has to rest her soul. Anyway, the whole "resting" thing is sort of an AU thing. It just started when I was reading some fic and thought, "Well, if Botan goes into spirit form, doesn't that mean that body is like gone? Or dead or something?" and that's how it started.

And thank you to allothers who reviewed.

* * *

**Nice to see you**

Two ningen days went by slowly for Botan. She thought that she had more patience than this, but she felt like a little kid who couldn't wait to have a cookie but their mother said to wait for five minutes. And five minutes to a kid who wants a cookie is an eternity. Botan didn't know how much longer she could wait. She was afraid of going back to Ayame for the tenth time and asking if two ningen days had past already.

She swore that Ayame looked ready to kick her butt all the way to Ningenkai instead of spending anymore time making a new body.

So Botan stated to pace back and forth in the special room created for ferry girls to relax and catch up on the latest news. Thankfully she no longer heard any talk concerning her or Hiei. If she had, she knew that she'd have even less patience. The gossiping stopped, but the stares continued to be cast towards her. Those at least she could ignore.

Then, growing tried of pacing and to help her past the time, she had made some quick conversations with other ferry girls that she knew well. Putting on a mask to show that she was alright, she made big smiles. Inside she felt her anxiety over the flow of time. It just went too slowly for her liking. She guessed what they said was true. Or rather some poem that she found. Or was it told? She couldn't remember.

Time is too slow for those who wait,  
Too swift for those who fear,  
Too long for those who grieve,  
Too short for those who rejoice,  
But for those who love, time is eternity.

"Wow. That's a nice poem Botan," Hinageshi said. The other two ferry girls sitting with them nodded their heads in agreement.

"What poem?" Botan asked confused. Did she just say the poem out loud? She was only thinking of it, she didn't mean to say it out loud.

"The poem that you were just muttering. Where did you hear that?" Hinageshi asked.

Botan laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. "You know, I don't remember. Maybe I heard from one of the spirits I had to ferry."

"Well, it's a lovely poem," a dark blue haired ferry girl named Rose said, who mainly ferried in the American continents.

"It really is," Aldara agreed. She too was once a former human like Botan who had once lived in ancient Greece. "When you find out who told it to you, let me know. I want to know if that person knows any other poems."

The other ferry girls agreed. Soon enough, the three of them started to recite their favorite love poems, sonnets, and songs. It was hard, but somehow Botan managed to plaster on a smile on her face while the words love, care, and marriage were thrown about. And somehow, their words managed to break her heart all over again. She felt like crying and running to be alone. She was about to do it too when a voice called for her on the intercom.

"Botan, please report to Ayame at Information. I repeat, Botan, please report to Ayame at Information."

"Well, girls, I'm off. Sounds like Ayame needs me," Botan hastily said and left.

The remaining ferry girls just shook their heads and smiled at each other. They didn't exactly know what Botan and Ayame were planning, but they did know that it had something to do with Hiei. Nobody got over love that easily. So Rose and Aldara both turned to Hinageshi.

"Tell us all you know about Hiei," Aldara ordered the red haired ferry girl.

Hinageshi smiled in compliance.

Meanwhile, Botan almost ran to Information and nearly ran over Ayame.

"Botan, slow down," Ayame said while holding on to the other's arm to stop her from running on.

"So you're done?" Botan asked excitedly.

"Hai. This way," she led her to another room. Inside the room was a table with a body on top. Botan's eyes widen with admiration and gratefulness. She hugged Ayame tightly and elatedly.

"Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you," she said breathlessly.

Ayame smiled fondly. "Your welcome."

"It looks great. And it's still the same as me."

"Of course it is. A body is just a shape for your soul. If your soul is bright and filled with the light of the right path, then there is nothing stopping you from having a beautiful body."

Botan couldn't help but think of Kuwabara and voice her thoughts to Ayame.

"Well," Ayame put her finger on her chin to think. "Kuwabara is comfortable the way he is. He doesn't let what other people think interfere with what he wants. So the way his body looks isn't important."

"I guess that could be true," Botan said still unsure. But she just shrugged it off, convinced that she'll understand one day that was not meant to be today. She sat on the table and then lied down to house her soul inside the body. When she opened her eyes, she could feel the warmth wrapping around her.

The sensation was pleasant. Botan slowly sat up and took a few moments to adjust moving her limbs and breathing muscles. Everything was the same as the old one except for the feel of freshness to it. She hit her knees and head light, just to make sure that she could feel pain. When she was satisfied with the results, Botan dismissed the body and hugged Ayame again.

"Thank you so much. I owe you big time."

"You can make it up to me later. Now it's time for you to get going," Ayame replied. Botan nodded her head and the two proceeded to seek out of the castle, making sure that no one saw them.

Once they were out, they hugged once more and Botan summoned her oar. Ayame waved her goodbye and wished her good luck. Botan wished herself the same.

"Hiei, wait for me," Botan whispered to herself.

Herfirst stop was Genkai's house. Though she would like to go to Hiei first, she first had to ask for directions on how to get there, and the best person to ask that was Yukina. She didn't really consider Kurama because she hadn't seen him around often as of late and figured that he was either really busy or out of town. Plus, she could reassure Yukina that she was alright since the last time she saw the ice demon….

Well she didn't want to think about that. It'd just hurt too much. And Botan would need all the good and happy thoughts if she was to talk with Hiei.

So holding her eagerness at the prospect of seeing Hiei now instead of later, Botan dismissed her oar, settled into her new body, and made herself walked inside instead of flying around in circles in Makai. She walked by several rooms until she found one that was occupied by three people.

"Keiko! Yukina! And Genkai!" she exclaimed happily and quickened her steps to embraced them. Seeing them in person made her realized how much she missed staying at Genkai's.

"Botan!" Keiko exclaimed with mild shock. "How are you? Are you alright? Did you get in trouble with Koenma after we left?" She had a lot of questions running around her mind. Keiko would never forget the day that she saw Botan on the ground, unable to get up or move.

She made a vow that she would never get jealous or sad whenever Botan could not spend with her. There was just too much at stake.

"I'm alright. And I'm just a little bit in trouble with Koenma," Botan replied, laughing.

"You've been gone for so long, we were worried," Yukina said softly. Indeed she was worried for the ferry girl and for her brother's sake as well. She hadn't heard from him since and it made her sad.

"How long have I been gone?" Botan asked. As far as Botan knew, she was gone for two and a half days, maybe even three.

"Almost a week," Keiko answered. She wasn't sure that she liked the confused look that Botan gave when she asked nor the shock on her face when she answered.

"A week!" Now Botan was in distress. She didn't take into account that she might be gone for more than a few days. Funny how it didn't feel like a week to her. What if Hiei tried to contact her but couldn't? What if he came by everyday to see if she was there and didn't see her? And what if he gave up on coming by? Botan completely forgot that he would still come by anyway just to visit Yukina.

But still. That fact didn't matter in her mind at that moment because she's been gone for far too long. Because, what if he moved on? Or he decided that she wasn't worth it? To her, he was worth it. She wanted to be worth something to him. And if nothing else, she wanted to be able to make him smile. Having someone else make him smile didn't count because she was that selfish to want to have him to herself.

"I've got to find Hiei," Botan said franticly. "I've– I've got to talk to him. I have to see him. Yukina, do you know exactly where he lives?"

"Yes. Do you want to go there now?"

"Hai!" Botan quickly replied.

With that said, Botan grabbed Yukina and dragged the koorime out the room with her. Just as they reached the door, Genkai called out to them, "Botan, does Koenma know that you're here?"

Botan stopped. "Um…. No." Then she got on both of her knees and touched her forehead to the floor. "But I would really, really appreciate it if you didn't tell him where I am or where I'm going."

"Whatever. As long as you come back with Yukina and both of you end up in one piece. And don't bring any trouble with you when you come back," Genkai said and then calmly sipped on her tea.

Seeing that Genkai would keep her word, Botan continued to drag Yukina away. Keiko stared after them. Then, as if she finally came back down to earth, she yelled after their retreating forms, "Good luck Botan!"

Moments later, she saw three other figures heading her way.

"Yusuke! Kuwabara! Kurama!" she waved excitedly to them.

* * *

"Botan, do you know where we are going?" asked the dragged Yukina. 

Once again, Botan stopped. "Now that I think about it, not really. But I do know that Hiei headed in this direction when he first brought me to Makai."

"Did he teleport you to Makai?"

Now Botan really felt stupid. "Um…. yes."

"Then come with me this way." Yukina took Botan by the hand and led her in the direction of the mountains. "There is a small gap between this world and the world of demons that allows lowered level youkai to pass."

"Do you go through there often?" Botan asked, fascinated.

"Hai," Yukina replied. "Mostly when my brother forgets to visit me."

"But Hiei would never forget to visit you!" Botan defended him.

"Only when he's too caught up in what he is doing and doesn't want me to heal him."

Botan didn't ask what she meant by that. It was between two siblings and she would leave it at that.

Silence reigned over them as they walked. Good thing Botan had Yukina leading her. Her pedantic attention to anything around her would've gotten her lost or make her walk right into a tree. She was too busy debating whether or not she should ask Yukina if she had any personal dislike or anger against the ferry girl. She did after cause Hiei pain. And, from what she could tell, Hiei hadn't been visiting her a lot lately. They crossed the portal without Botan noticing and she still couldn't decide if she should ask.

"What are you going to say to Hiei, if I may ask?" Yukina inquired, breaking Botan's thoughts, which ultimately gave way to new ones.

"I don't know. I haven't thought pass the whole 'I want to see Hiei' part in my plan," Botan confessed. "I just know that I have to see him. Talk to him."

"About what?"

"I don't know. Anything that pops up into my head I guess," she gave Yukina a weak smile.

Yukina didn't smile back. She knew that whatever Botan thought of doing, and that was winging it, wouldn't work. Not on Hiei. She knew that he would still be sad and angry. Like she said a week before, recovery for a demon was hard. She only hoped that Botan would think of something better than leaving it to chance by the time they got to Hiei.

From the corner of her eye, she eyed the thoughtful looking Botan. If she somehow manages to calm Hiei and accept her apology, then what? Would they continue on with their courtship? Pick up where they left off? And what if Botan doesn't get Hiei to forgive her? What then? Would Botan break? Would Hiei?

Yukina didn't like where her thoughts were heading.

Maybe she should talk to Botan more about demons. She felt that Kurama didn't do a good enough in explaining things.

"We should be there within the hour," she said, trying to dissipate her negative thoughts. Yukina came to the decision that Hiei should talk to Botan about demons in where Kurama failed to explain thoroughly. If he was to have any hope of being with Botan, then he'd need to learn to be more open to her.

"Okay."

The rest of the walk was left in silence. Unaware to Botan, Yukina was acting not only as her guide but as her protector as well. She was giving off an aura that told other demons to leave them alone else there'd be serious consequences. Not by her because she wasn't a fighter, but by her brother. Anyone who knew about Hiei would know the message in Yukina's aura that she was sending.

When they finally reached Hiei's castle, they were met by Takeru at the entrance. He bowed to both of them. "Yukina-san. Botan-san. It has been a while since I've seen you both."

"It is good to see you too," Yukina said.

"I presume that the two of you want to see Hiei-san?"

"Hai," Yukina replied and Botan nodded her head.

"Then follow me."

He led them inside. Botan didn't say anything. Somehow, his cool attitude made her even more nervous than she already was. Would Hiei act the same way? She didn't know how she'd respond to that if he did.

Takeru lead the two girls to a set of large doors that opened up to a rather thick forest. Mostly it was filled with trees and not many varieties with flowers. Nothing special was in the forest, least the person liked trees a lot.

"Hiei-san should be on the biggest tree," Takeru said.

Yukina and Takeru watched her expectedly. Realizing that they wanted her to go by herself, Botan headed off to find the biggest tree. Botan wonder the place feeling a little lost. She's never been there before. So it was understandably easy for her to get lost.

"Are you going to talk with him?"

A voice said from Botan's back. Botan spun around to face the voice and found Mukuro without the bandages.

"I do if I find him," Botan tried to make some light humor.

Mukuro didn't find it amusing. She took a few steps towards Botan, who stepped back. Seeing that she was signaling to the other demon that she was intimidated, Botan firmly held her ground.

Mukuro didn't find that impressive. She turned her head to the left. Botan got a good look at her scarred face. "He is a little unstable. Are you sure that you want to talk to him?"

Botan looked at the demon straight in the eyes. She could feel her heart pounding hard. It felt like it was ready to burst from Mukuro's gaze. Her voice sounded steady and strong, unlike her courage. "I want to see him."

"If you insist."

Botan watched Mukuro walk away from her. She deeply sighed and continued on her search in the direction the Mukuro looked. That brief meeting with Mukuro disturbed her. She didn't want to think too much about it or look too deeply into what Mukuro meant. All Botan wanted to think about was Hiei. It took her a while until she found the biggest tree in the middle of a clearing.

Looking up at the tree, she called, "Hiei? Are you up there?"

* * *

He was mediating when he heard her voice. Ironically, he was mediating to forget her and here she appears. The fates were cruel to him. But he wasn't a big believer in fate. If something happened, then it happened. He wouldn't complain or whine over something that didn't work out because he didn't try. So he let her yell for him from the bottom of the tree knowing that Takeru let her in. 

When he could no longer take her voice, he jumped down. He noticed that he scared her with his entrance. Hiei didn't apologize or make any indication that he was up for talking. He just stared at her. He saw that she was visible uncomfortable and sought for words to say.

Wanting to speed her visit so that she could leave sooner, he snapped, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see you," Botan said. Her heart wildly pounded. Her head screamed at her that this is wrong. She shouldn't be doing this now. Or at least thought better of what she should say. But her heart told her to go on, do what she wanted to do.

Botan listened to her heart.

She wanted to see Hiei. And so she had. Damn anything and everything that wanted to get in her way when all she wanted at that moment was to tell him that she loved him.

"I wanted to see you. I wanted to apologize for not telling about my need to rest and to tell you that…." a few tears were running down her eyes. How can you explain to a person who always thought that emotions were useless how you feel? That they were important? And with straining her soul and heartbroken by the very same person, she didn't know if she could take a rejection. "That I really care for you. And I want to be with you."

The air around them became cold. Botan shivered. It was never cold around Hiei. Fire was the dominate side of him, yet the atmosphere was cold. What was even more chilling were Hiei's blank eyes that appeared to be able to look into her soul and see her weakness.

"I guess Koenma didn't bother to explain to you," Hiei said deadpan. "If I make you mine, and you go into spirit form as you are required to do in order to continue existing here, then I become psychotic. Maybe even kill myself."

Botan's eyes widen. "W-What? How is that possible?"

Hiei took a step towards her. Cold fury covered his face, though his tone was still emotionless. "If we mate, then we are connected. I will feel you when you _rest. _It will feel like you are dieing each and every time you become a spirit. A continuation of your living and dieing will render me insane."

"Then we don't mate." Somehow Botan knew that that was the wrong answer.

Hiei let out a raucous laugh. "Really. What is it with you ningens? You always think that you have a simple solution for everything."

She didn't say it, but Botan's mind asked why.

"Why?" Hiei heard. "I'll tell you why." Hiei grabbed her arm and spun her around hard so that her back hit the tree. "You see, when a demon wants something, we hold on to it. And I don't take parts, I take everything. Having only part of you and not being able to make you all mine makes me very upset. I couldn't live with it. Because you see, my emotions can be much more intense than yours. The depths of my true feelings almost seem bottomless. I could hold a grudge on you for so long, that'll you'll forget why I hate you. But I'll always remember."

"You… hate…" Botan couldn't finish. Her heart was breaking because she understood what Hiei was saying. What Kurama was trying to tell her before.

"_As you know, most demons don't want feelings such as love. But those who do want mates may undergo courting to see if they would be a compatible pair. This is not a common thing. Most who do mate, and end up not liking their mate, would kill them."_

Was that what he meant? Because Hiei was putting his feelings on the line. He didn't mean that Hiei was afraid to get hurt. Hiei wasn't afraid to get hurt. It was just because his very emotions were more intense than Botan realized. Much more intense.

"_But those who do court take it very seriously. They are putting their pride and feelings on the line."_

And it was also about pride. Not jus Hiei's pride, but his honor. And he took that very seriously. Hiei may be a killer, but he lived by his own honor.

"Did you really think that you could come here and tell me that you care for me and everything will be alright?" Hiei sneered. "You're delusional."

"Well maybe I am!" Botan shouted. She wanted him to stop glaring at her and just hold her. But she knew that the chances of him doing that now were unlikely. "But I have to believe that everything will be alright in the end. I have to."

She searched his eyes. She had to know if he thought that everything will alright too. She didn't want to be without him. She looked for anything that would give her a sign. A light of hope, love, or a smile. Something other than nothing. Anything would do.

She found nothing in his red abyss for eyes.

"You can't just give up!" Botan tried once more.

"I'm not giving up on anything. I just rather not be insane."

Botan felt like crying her eyes out and pulling at her hair. She felt like hitting his head over and over with her bat until he stopped doing this. Why wasn't he working with her? If they find a way, they could be together. Unless….

"Don't you want to be with me?" She didn't consider the possibility that he may not want to be with her. No. That wasn't true. She didn't to think about that possibility.

Hiei was offended by her question. Was she really that stupid?

It was more fuel for a raging anger.

Hiei pushed her against the tree again and kissed her. Hard. And roughly. He tightly held her wrists and pinned them to the side. He knew that her wrists would lightly bruise. He roughly traced her lips with his tongue. His aggressive kiss made Botan whimper. He could feel her struggling to move away from him. Hiei pressed on with the kiss. Then he bit her lower lip, just hard enough to draw blood and sucked it. It wasn't mating, just something to remember her by.

He didn't want to see her again. Hiei quickly withdrew from her and left.

It was better this way. He had to believe that.

Botan sank to the ground. A stream of tears ran down her face. Not wanting to be there any longer, she summoned her oar and flew away. Somehow she managed to find her way to Ningenkai and to a small familiar boulder. Botan flung herself onto the boulder and cried.


	20. Red

AN: Sorry that I couldn't update earlier and that there are many grammar errors in this chapter. But I felt so bad that I haven't updated in a long time, so I decided to update it anyway. It's the same excuses; school, homework, and people always calling me just so I could keep _them _company while _they _do _their _homework.

**Be warned. I will edit this chapter. As to how much,** **I first have to see how the next chapter or two plays along. **

And in response to the most asked questions and comments:

**This story is so original and the characters are mostly in-character.**

Thank you to all who said it. And believe me that quite a few people said it. I do try to keep the characters in character, but there will be times when they're OOC. Mostly so it can fit the story lines, character development, and a great and sudden change.

**So much drama.**

Well, the genre did say drama. To be more precise, it's Romance/Drama, so it should have gave you all a clue that would be drama. There was romance with some drama in the beginning and lots of drama in the late middle and ending. So please, if you can, reframe from complaining about the drama and why it' there. It's supposed to be there.

**Please make this a happy ending/Make this a happy ending or I will hurt you.**

Wow. First I would like to say… please don't hurt me. I have very low pain tolerance. Second, I already have an ending planned out and unless I have reason to believe that it will not work, than I will continue with my plans. But as for the happy ending…. Well there were clues throughout the whole story foreshadowing the events that would take place. Such as Botan's resting problem, Kurama's breakdown (not much there though), and other stuff. You just have to look for them.

**None of you asked this, to which I am surprised. **

I planned to be about 3 more chapters left. Most likely that there still will be. I don't know yet.

**Red**

Love was something that was new for her. She never really felt love before nor did she really receive it. Growing up was hard and there really was no older female that could help her during the developing years. Add to the fact that she was raped so many times, trust was something that had to be earned.

So it was a little awkward for her whenever she was around him. She didn't know whether she should expect something from him or if she should gave him signals that she was interested in him. And at the same time, she didn't want anything to change between them. Their friendship (if one could call it that) something she valued. Besides, she wasn't sure if her feelings for him were even worth it to pursue something that could end badly.

Mukuro could remember her first thought about Hiei, all those years ago.

"_He could be interesting."_

Mukuro made a small smile to herself. She had been right. Hiei was interesting. He had a similar background as she did. He was a quick learner who quickly became stronger and stronger over time. He had overcome any obstacle that she had placed before him. He was a leader and a follower. Leading armies was no problem for him. Though he could follow orders when given, there was a certain spark in his eyes that warn you that if there was any weakness that he could find, he would have no problem in exposing it.

But that depended on how much he liked you.

Hiei respected her.

Any weakness she had, he would keep it to himself.

She only hoped that he would never find out about her little secret. It wasn't something that she wanted him to know. Or anyone for that matter. Unfortunately, she knew that one person knew to whom her feelings laid.

Damn elves.

Love wasn't something that she expected or wanted. To mate, maybe. To have emotional attachments, no. Before, having a mate was almost impossible. Even if she wanted one. She had heard rumors that Raizen had fallen in love with a human. Look where it got him. He vowed to stop eating human flesh and became weak. If he'd never fell in love, he would have been the true ruler of Makai up to today. But now he's dead and his spirit is rotting in some hell and Enki is the current ruler.

Sometimes she missed being co-ruler of Makai.

Looking back at it, she supposed that maybe she didn't really want to rule everything. Maybe. She was just fine the way she was. As long there was fighting and demons to kill in her life, she could live with it. After all, she had to live with a lot of things in her life: the chains that were still on her wrist, the noticeable scars on her body that refused to heal, her losing to one of Raizen's friends during the Makai Tournament.

Complaining about it wouldn't make it better. Doing something about it would. She wasn't passive in any way.

But she couldn't anything about Hiei. And the fact that she couldn't pissed her off to no end. The most that she could do for him was to distract him. She couldn't take away his pain or eliminate it. She couldn't even kill the wrenched ferry girl that caused his suffering. And she still wouldn't get his affections.

Heartbreaking as it is, half of her was already prepared for it. That half had already built up a resistance to anguish and suffering from any and all of those around her.

Why?

Because she had to.

She didn't want to end up like some pathetic demon that couldn't get what they wanted. She didn't want to end up completely heartbroken and devastated by rejection or by someone to unexpectedly to backstab her. She didn't want to end up killed by some weakling who got lucky enough to get passed all the A and S class demons just to have a go with her and lose. She didn't want to have to look into those sorrow-filled eyes which told her all the sad truths of their life and feel sorry for them.

Or pity.

Because then she would be weak.

She didn't want to feel guilty over who she was. Mukuro lived to fight and to kill. Guilt was something that she didn't plan on having as an emotion. Ever. Most demons didn't have guilt and when they did, well it sucked to be them. Trust was also something that she didn't give too often. So she learned to quickly assess when people were lying and when they weren't.

She wasn't like Hiei who freely gave his trust away to some dumb little girl who couldn't even give him what he needed most. She wasn't strong enough to handle it. But even with the pain that she knew was tearing him apart, Hiei was a master at hiding what he really felt. No one knew what really happened. No one questioned where the ferry girl had gone to when they all saw her leave. No one questioned the second in command when he immediately order that a small group of demons train with him when they all knew that he preferred to train alone.

They all just assumed that Hiei had gotten tried of her and chased her away. It was so far from the truth, and yet at the same time, so close.

Mukuro watched as a couple of her demons jest about nothing in particular and waste their time doing nothing. Off in the distance she saw the only one who even bothered to keep his skills sharp everyday. A black blur circled the field and destroying trees when needed be and zipped around and ran pass them as if they weren't there. Hiei was magnificent to see (when you could actually see him) while he trained.

Mukuro placed a hand on the glass, where Hiei's small form was moving about. Deep down, maybe she wanted him to love her back. It would have been interesting to see how their relationship would have been like. It wouldn't be a normal relationship, of that she was certain. There wouldn't be eyes filled with love as they gazed at each other, no smiles that only they knew the meaning of, and fighting with the other would probably be their favorite time together. It would have been hard to define love with two demons that control their emotions so effortlessly.

Then again, it could be better that he didn't. Or maybe not. If he didn't, then maybe one day she could learn to love another. And maybe that person will love her back. But getting over someone was never easy work. Especially for a demon.

Mukuro sighed and walked away. All this thinking about love was starting to give her a headache. She should go kill something.

But all Mukuro could think about was his red eyes that could leave her gasping for breathing with a mere glance.

Yukina walked the halls of Hiei's castle, mentally thinking of all the ways Botan could have brightened up the walls and make it feel more comforting. The sense of feeling that she got while inside the castle was one of coldness and at the same time it was welcoming. To any other person, that statement was probably a contradictory of itself but it made perfect sense to Yukina.

She smiled sadly to herself. Thinking of Botan and Hiei made her feel sad.

It was just only two days ago when Botan dragged her to find Hiei and talk with him. Although she didn't know exactly what Botan said to Hiei, she knew that it didn't work. Yukina regretted not explaining things better to Botan. But Botan should have known better. However, Yukina could not place all the blame on her. It was still partly her fault too. And Kurama. If she had just explained the situation to Botan thoroughly, then this wouldn't be happening.

Botan wouldn't be off somewhere, maybe lost in Makai crying her heart out.

Hiei wouldn't distract himself with training to death and denying that he ever had feelings for the ferry girl.

And something just seemed off with Mukuro that Yukina was almost positive that it was somehow tied together with her brother.

Meanwhile, Yukina felt like she had a duty to stay in Makai for the time being. She didn't know how long she'll stay there, but she knew that she was needed there. Yukina felt sad that she had yet to return to Genkai who lived alone without her.

She was also sad because she didn't tell Kazuma that she wouldn't be at Genkai's for a couple of days. She hoped that he didn't take it the wrong way and think that she didn't care about their friendship. Because she cared.

She cared a lot.

Yukina stopped walking and opened the door that led to Hiei's room. It looked like no one had been there for days. Yukina sighed and walked into it anyway. She didn't feel like socializing with anyone and her sense of duty as a sister kept her leaving Makai for even a couple of hours.

At the corner of the room, Yukina saw something shine just a little bit. She walked up to it and smiled. She gently touched the marvelous crystal, feeling each small scale at the tips of her fingers. It was warm. The eyes of the small figure appeared to sparkle with a life of its own.

"I see."

That's when Yukina knew that everything had to get better.

A whole new set of possibilities opened up in front of Yukina. She knew that there was going to be happier times for her brother. Maybe not in the end, but at least he will happy. Even if it was for only a moment, she knew that he would be happy. Because there really was no end, change can occur.

At the corner of her eye, Yukina saw a long red ribbon that looked like it was flung there without care, looking defeated.

Hiei took long deep breathes. The sword wavered in his hands. It felt heavier then it did a couple of days ago. Sweat poured down his back and face. The air seemed to be getting hotter and hotter with each second. Any cool breeze was openly welcomed to his body. Spots at the corner of his eyes annoyed him to no end.

He was _not _tried. He could still go on.

Hiei had survived worst than this. He was put in a dark, damp cave and forced to fight with hundreds of demons with little rest. So of course a little bit of training two days straight was nothing. Absolutely nothing. He _could _handle it. He _will _handle.

Hiei's grip on the sword tightened. His knuckles turned white and his grip didn't loosen. A half second later and he disappeared from the spot. Pieces of rocks flew high into the air and dirt went everywhere. Hiei cursed under his breathe. He was getting sloppy. Hiei swung his sword again and leap forward. He had to get his timing perfect. He hated that he was getting lazy too laid back as of late.

He needed to get better.

He needed to forget about _her._

Hiei needed to get his mind focus on the task at hand and not about the baka onna who cries over the stupidest things. The same baka onna who couldn't keep her mouth shut and was always so loud. Talking at every hour of the day and expected him to talk back to her when she could make a whole conversation with just herself. Not to mention that she could be so naïve and didn't have a fighter's spirit.

Because having a fighter's spirit had to account for something. If there was one thing that he respected out of anything, even if never openly showed it, Hiei respected those willing to fight to the end.

_Hiding behind excuses. _

Hiei scowled. He wasn't hiding. He was just stating facts. And facts were true. And the truth hurts.

Another step forward and Hiei practically collapsed on the damaged tree that miraculously managed to hold his weight after taking a beating from Hiei's sword. Too stubborn to admit his weariness, Hiei told himself that he would only rest for a few moments before he started practicing with his Darkness of the Dragon Flame. The down part about resting was that it left his mind opened to vulnerability.

His mind would wound to _her. _

True that there were ways to keep his mind occupied so that it wouldn't wonder about without his permission, but he didn't feel like meditating or the like. So Hiei forced himself to think about the future in a long term point of view.

A hundred years from now, the ningen companions that he had affiliations with would be long dead. Hiei wondered how Yukina would cope without her ningen friends that she seemed to hold so dear. Especially, and he hated to admit, Kuwabara. Hiei would probably enter the next Makai Tournament in attempt to become ruler. And Kurama. Last time Hiei saw him their dispute over their affections for the baka onna had certainly put a stain on their friendship.

Now that Botan was out of the picture, maybe they could go back to the friendship that they once had. But for some reason, every time Hiei tried thinking about his bleak future a painful throbbing would occur inside him and a vile taste in his mouth made him feel like he just wanted to vomit. A dull ache in his head formed and a huge urge to sleep overcame him.

But before Hiei could get up and follow his desire to sleep, he saw Yukina in clear view. From the look of her face, she wanted him to accompany her while she took a walk. Not wanting for his sister to walk by herself, and mourning for the lost chance of sleeping, he slowly got up and headed her way.

By the way he got up and walked must have signaled something to Yukina because by the time he got to speaking point, Yukina tired to take back her offer. "You're hurt and tired. You should be driving yourself so hard just to accompany me."

"I'll be fine."

Yukina's worried eyes told him that she didn't believe him. She moved to heal and he let her do it. If anything, just to make her stop worrying about his health. Even he didn't do that. Once she was done, they proceeded to walk in some unknown destination.

"I hope that Genkai-san isn't too worried about me," Yukina said, breaking the silence between them. "I didn't tell her that I was going to be away this long."

Hiei grunted. He really didn't care if the old hag was worrying herself to death. He would take care of his sister.

"I also didn't get the chance to tell Kazuma that I was going to be away for a couple of days."

At this, Hiei scowled. He could care less about the ugly ningen. Even though at some level, he did care a little. But he'll never admit that.

"Hiei." Yukina said in a tone that made him stop. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He shrugged it off.

"Are you really?" she pressed on. Something in her eyes told him not to lie to him.

Hiei looked away.

"Hiei, I want you to talk to me. It hurts to see you like this."

Hiei's heart felt like dying. His mind sought for words to reassure her but he never had to comfort someone before so he felt uncomfortable and all the while like a horrible brother. He was supposed to protect his sister from being in pain and not cause.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry."

It sounded lame to his ears. But it was the only thing that came to his mind.

Yukina nodded her head in acceptance and gave him a smile. Never before had Hiei felt grateful for a sister like her. His body wanted to fidget with the awkwardness of this new feeling, but he suppressed it.

"I won't force you to talk to me about what you feel," she said. "You'll do that when you're ready. But I would like to be the person that you can talk to. About anything."

Hiei nodded and took that into consideration. But he mentally said no to the 'About anything' part. While he did dearly love and trust his sister, there were still some things that he'd rather not let her know or discuss with her. For example, he'd rather not have a conversation with her about the best technique to do a stealth kill.

"Also, I want you to know that I think I love Kazuma."

Hiei could swear that he's heart skipped a beat at that moment. If he had one. "W– what?"

Yukina gained a far off look to her eyes. "I like being with Kazuma. He makes me feel happy inside. His smiles make want to blush half the time and I never feel alone when I'm with him."

_But I'm with you. You're not alone. _

Hiei wanted to say those words, but he bit his cheek so that he wouldn't. She looked too happy and he didn't want to spoil it. But the light in her eyes disturbed him a little because he knew that now that she has found someone to love she may not need him as much as he needed her. Add to the fact that it was Kuwabara of all people didn't make it any better. The idiot could barely take care of himself. He had his sister to do that for him.

He didn't deserve Yukina. But these thoughts of his didn't stop her from rambling on about her fondness towards him.

"Whenever he's not with me, I feel sad. I want to see him. Just to know that he's still there and that he'll make me smile when I feel sad. I feel a warmth inside me whenever he's around. Sometimes my mind wonders to him and replays all the times he has been so kind to me. Then my heart beats faster. So I think that I love him. Isn't that what love is? To always want to be near that person and to always be by their side?"

Hiei couldn't look her at the eyes anymore. He was no longer sure if she was talking about her and Kuwabara or the onna and him. Both bothered him to no ends.

"Maybe."

He wasn't an expert in love. And frankly, he thought that love was dangerous.

"I want to tell him that I love him," Yukina continued. Hiei tired his best to conceal his inner feelings. "That I want to be with him." She blushed, which made Hiei feel even worst.

"What if he rejects you?" he asked quietly and regretted it immediately. But even so, he wanted to know what she thought she would do.

"Then I'll be sad," she said all too calmly. "I know that there are risks involved and I may lose one of the best friendships that I ever had, but I'll regret it even more if I don't say anything."

Pride welled inside him. His little sister seemed strong enough to take on the world head on. However, there was still the question of his mortality. It wasn't that he was discouraging her from perusing a relationship with someone that he didn't like too well, he just wanted her to think before going head first into something that she was still new to.

That and he still didn't think that Kuwabara deserved her.

"He is still ningen. He'll die in a short amount of time."

Her eyes softened and saddened in a way that said that she had been aware of Kuwabara's mortality and her immortality all to well. "I know. But I still want to tell him. And if he accepts and loves me in return, then I'll be happy. And in the future, when he'll die of old age, I know that I'll be sad. But at least I could take comfort in the fact that I was _with_ him and that he loved me. That I was once happy with him. Because, that's what's important, that I'll happy with him for as long as I could be before he will eventually die."

Her words died towards the end.

Maybe Yukina was talking about the both of them. If could be with Botan, even for a short time, then maybe he could be happy. No matter how short. Yukina was willing to stick with Kuwabara despite his short existence. Hiei reevaluated his situation again and shook his head.

Yukina was willing to give her heart away for a short amount of time for _some_ happiness, but he wasn't ready or willing to do the same.

"If he makes you sad or cry in any way, then I'll kill him," he finally said.

"He won't."

The two of them continued on with their walk. When they finally came back around, Hiei saw something on the top of his castle. A long, red ribbon was hung outside and rippled in the wind. Hiei froze when he saw it. Memories of the past few days came into his mind. He unconsciously trembled slightly.

Looking puzzled because Hiei didn't answer a question that she had asked, Yukina looked to where her brother's attention was caught.

"It's lovely, ne?" she said. The two continued to stare at the flying ribbon in the sky. "From down here, it really does look somewhat like a banner."

Hiei looked at it with dead eyes while his mouth formed a scowl. Then he promptly turned his back to it and walked away. He didn't see the red ribbon somehow untie itself and sail through the winds. But Yukina did. And she watched the ribbon fly off until it was nothing but a red blur and then nothing.


	21. Love

**AN: **It's hard for me to write the emotions well for this chapter. Hopefully I'll get to revised it later. I hate how this one came out.

**Love**

She drew small circles on the large familiar rock with her finger. She watched as the drops of water that had dotted the boulder evaporate away, and she couldn't help but make a bitter smile at them. It reminded her so much of her. How she could evaporate like that if she didn't stick to the rules.

Maybe it would be better if she hadn't felt love.

Or fallen in love.

Who was that stupid asshole that said that it was better to love and lost than to never have loved at all? Or something around the lines of that. She had to remember to find that poor soul who made that up and send him to the burning fires of the seven hells. If he wasn't already there.

Fire.

Fresh tears welled in Botan's eyes. She was too tired to brush them back. She tried it before, but more just kept coming. So she eventually gave that up and watched as they spilled down her chin and land on the boulder. She tried so hard, she really did, to not think about him. But every thought she had would somehow remind her of him. Form the colors black and red to the sky because there was a cloud that looked like a dragon. Everything around her just screamed Hiei at her.

She couldn't get away from it.

And she didn't want to.

But she did.

And yet she didn't.

Botan was torn.

She didn't understand how a person who was heartbroken still want to be in love with the same person who broke their heart. It was just too absurd. But that's just how she felt. There was no understanding it. She didn't understand love. It gave her grief and happiness. It gave her the chance to have everything and it took everything away. If she was a regular human, she'd probably consider killing herself.

She's seen enough dead souls that killed themselves because of the person they fell in love with didn't love them back. Funny thing was, sometimes the person did love them back. They just never said so. But other times, they never even knew the person existed. Or there was nothing more than a friendship type of feeling. And with that came guilt.

Botan didn't know which situation she preferred with herself. Before, she thought that she'd choose the one in where the person had a friendship type of feeling towards her if she was ever placed in a situation like that. She figured that it was better to have some type of love given to her than none at all. Maybe her answer was still the same. Though she knew that she doubted it.

Why have uneasy tensions whenever they were both alone in a room? Why waste time with awkward moments and long periods of silence filled with guilt?

Botan sighed tiredly. Things were just too depressing lately. The whole week (Was it really a week? She couldn't remember) was filled with ups and downs. And just when she thought that everything was going to be alright, things just fell apart. That's just the way life works. Nothing ever goes your way. Everything was meant to disappoint. Nothing was a sure thing. Nothing was reliable. Life was a lie ready to smack you in the face with a 50 ton or more building.

Just as Botan thought these thoughts, she immediately shook her head.

No.

**No.**

She was **not **going to turn into a pessimistic. Sure life was hard, but she got through it fine, ne?

"I did get through it fine!" Botan said with restored determination. "I turned out fine after everything! Even if I did die."

She sat back down on the boulder. She didn't even notice when she stood up. Botan thought that maybe she was going a little crazy for talking to herself. She sighed dejectedly.

_Think happy thoughts, Botan. Happy thoughts. Not thoughts of… Happy thoughts._

She repeated this over and over in her head. Maybe trying to be optimistic will help her. She thought of bunnies, rainbows, puppies, and her friends. Keiko and Yusuke were going to married soon! Maybe not until at least another year or two, but they were the only couple that she knew that was going to be married within the next decade. Botan thought of all the fun activities that she could do with the girls before the big, eventual day. There were pretty dresses that had to be selected, those cute invitations cards, presents that she'd have to go shopping for, and a party before the wedding!

Botan's happy thoughts down sad again.

A bachelorette party reminded her of her single status. And Hiei would mostly likely be at the wedding. She'd have to face him. Somehow a year or two didn't seem as long as it once did. Then Botan's stomach sank even lower. Also there was that reunion party in a few months too.

She wasn't scared of seeing him.

She was scared of not seeing him.

Or worst.

Seeing him with another female.

Despite the fact that the demon broke her heart twice within a week's span, she still wanted to see him. Even if it meant that her heart would be broken yet again. She was just stubborn. Or stupid. She preferred stubborn.

"Or maybe I'm just a baka onna," she said to herself with a sad smile.

She remembered years ago when a similar boulder was put on this very spot. It was to be like a head stone for her ashes. It wasn't very large. And over time, what few flowers were place on top of the over-turned earth and the boulder were soon gone. She knew because she visited this place at least once in a decade or two. It was strange visiting her own pile of ash that was once her original human body. Especially since the point of visiting a grave was to speak or have a sort of connection with the spirit of the person.

But it wasn't like someone else was going to visit her. Her brother didn't know that she was there. So it was just her, visiting her.

But there was a sort of peace visiting herself. She was able to think more clearly and steadily. She was more in tune with herself. So she had a new, bigger boulder placed there (though it did take a lot of time and effort) and this spot was her place.

It was her own. No one else's. Even if there was a city located a couple of minutes from there. No one came there.

So it was her place.

And she was willing to share it with someone.

And she still was.

"I'm a fool if I think that he's going to want me back," she said to herself. "Maybe it's time that I start thinking about letting him go."

The boulder with the tear stains gave her no answer.

"When do you think she'll be back here?" Keiko asked worriedly.

"Who knows? It's hard to say," Kuwabara replied.

"I thought for sure that she'll be here when I got back," Yukina said. She looked as if she was blaming herself. "If I had known that she'll be missing this long, then I would have followed her instead of staying with my brother."

"Who does that guy thinks he is?" Yusuke yelled, unable to take it anymore. "From what all of you have been telling me, it sounded like he really cared for her. It sure as hell looked that way when Botan was in trouble. And than one little problem that threatens their relationship shows up, and he's not even going to work it out with her and just give up?"

"What a coward!" Kuwabara, the fighter for love, agreed with Yusuke.

Yukina watched to two of them rant about how stupid and cowardly her brother was and how they were going to hurt him for hurting Botan. She tried to hide the pain that it caused her. Even though she did think that Hiei was being stupid on many levels, she didn't want him hurt.

"I do hope that Botan is alright."

"Hopefully she's in Reikai," Keiko replied, trying to be hopeful.

"Hopefully."

Kurama watched his friends, saying nothing. Keiko and Yukina were trying to cheer each other up. Yusuke and Kuwabara were planning vengeance for Botan. In another room, Genkai was making more tea and taking her time about it. Most likely trying to stay away from the noise being caused by her guests.

It had been two and a half weeks since the ultimate break up of Hiei and Botan. Four days since Yukina returned. Since that time, no one has heard from Botan. Yukina reported that Hiei was making himself busy with extensive and extreme training in Makai.

Kurama closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He wouldn't mind carrying out most of the punishments for Yusuke and Kuwabara, adding some of his own creative ones too. Kurama did still consider Hiei a friend, despite all that has happened. But friend or no, no one gets away with hurting Botan.

Pain gripped his heart of an image of Botan heartbroken. His hold on his teacup tightened so much that the cup shattered. This caused the room to become silent as everyone stared at him in shock and surprise.

"That better not be you breaking my teacups Yusuke!" Genkai barked from another room.

"It wasn't me you old hag!" Yusuke said, all the while his eyes never left the kitsune. "So Kurama, you want to talk?"

He put on his best smile that he could muster. "No, not really."

"Are you ok?" Keiko asked, her concerned brown eyes trying to search his green ones.

Relaxing his hand he said, "I'm fine. I just got a little carried away that's all. I'm sorry. I'll clean this up."

"Bullshit." Kurama's hand stopped short on a small piece of glass. His unreadable face turned to Yusuke. "We all know you enough to know that you're lying. Well maybe not all the time, but this time you're sloppy. That's not like you. So what's going on in that complex head of yours?"

Kurama mentally commended Yusuke for being, well… Yusuke. Once again, a wave of gratitude filled Kurama for being Yusuke's friend. He truly was a good friend. Kurama glanced at Kuwabara and saw a sort of determination there as well. Kuwabara wasn't going to let him get away without an explanation.

After the Makai tournament, he and Kuwabara got closer as friends. Though Kurama kept some things back during many of their conversations, he found it easy talking to the orange head. It wasn't like talking to Hiei or Yusuke. With them he talked almost freely. Almost. With Kuwabara, it was more calming because… while Kurama couldn't quiet place it yet. There was just something about Kuwabara.

Just like there was something about Yusuke and Hiei. Each had something special about them that set them apart and yet somehow, made them the same in some weird and absurd way.

It only took a moment for Kurama to find an answer. When he did, he gave Yusuke a slow smile. "Well what else could be in my complex head than complex thoughts?"

Yusuke cursed himself for using the word complex. Then he and Kuwabara gave each other a look and then gave one to Kurama. They wanted to have a serious one on one with him it seemed. Maybe he was losing his touch. Or maybe he wasn't even trying and didn't care. They weren't sure.

"Whatever you say Kurama," Yusuke said as if he didn't care. The sideway glance that he made told Kurama otherwise. Not that he needed the sign anyways.

He felt Yukina's eyes glancing at his direction every so often when she didn't think that anyone was noticing. He noticed. He also noticed that she didn't even try to hide it from him. But when he looked at her, he couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking. Vaguely he thought about how some people didn't give her as much credit that she deserved for her cunningness.

"Botan!"

Kurama snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see the ferry girl.

"Botan…"

"Are you ok? Where did you go? I was so worried for you!" Keiko rambled to the sad looking ferry girl and tightly embraced her at the same time. She was feeling overprotective for the blue haired woman.

The others all looked on worriedly at her too and all wanted to know the same thing: was she alright?

Botan gave them a smile. A weak, sad one, but she was just happy that at least she could give them a smile. "I'm f–" she stopped herself short and saw the faces of those around her. She swallowed. "I guess that I'm not all that fine."

She couldn't bring herself to lie. Not to them. Not after they've been so good to her.

"Damn it Botan, we were worried!" Yusuke yelled. Frustration clearly in his voice and features. "The next time that you decide to go run off to be by yourself because Hiei breaks your heart, can you at least try to reassure us that you are safe first?"

Botan flinched at his words and tone. Kurama glared at his friend. The warmth that he had felt earlier for the black haired man dissipated instantly.

Keiko released Botan to smack him hard. "Yusuke! What's the matter with you?"

"I'm sorry!" He yelled back at Keiko. Then he turned to Botan with a softer expression. His eyes searching hers. "I'm sorry Botan. You know that I don't mean it that way. I'm just so frustrated with Hiei. And what he did to you, it wasn't right."

Botan's vision became blurred. "Thank you Yusuke." She hugged him. "You don't know how much that means to me. And I thought that I had already cried all my tears away. But I don't think that they want to stop now."

Yusuke patted her back. But he smiled at her as she soaked his shirt.

Keiko laughed at how her boyfriend could make Botan cry and make her feel better all in the same moment. She also laughed because a tear managed to form and fall down her cheek without her knowing.

"And you don't have to worry Botan. We'll give Hiei a personal message saying why he should never make you cry," Kuwabara said with a fire blazing in his eyes while he clenched his fists and made a pose.

Botan felt herself release a soft giggle from her lips. Maybe she couldn't be happy at the moment or anytime soon, but for now, she'd settle for a sort of contentment for just being with her friends.

She took a step away from Yusuke and apologized for wetting his shirt.

"Nah, its fine," he shrugged it off.

Botan made another smile for all of them. But as she faced Yukina, she couldn't look into the shorter girl's eyes. They were too red. Too deep. Too soon. Too much of him. And somehow Yukina understood and closed her eyes.

Botan squeezed her hands with gratitude.

It wasn't until two hours later that Kurama finally got to talk to Botan by himself. They stepped outside the house and he watched as she took a deep breath from the outside world.

"You know it's funny," she said staring at the night sky. "No matter how many times I breathe, I always feel alive with each breathe. Every time clear air comes in and out of me, I always feel like my life is just starting." She turned to see his green eyes. "It's stupid, ne?"

"I don't think so. Dieing men know this well too. Life is precious. It shouldn't be taken for granted. Each breathe is a reminder that you are alive. So it isn't all that farfetched that breathing is associated with life."

Botan nodded at his words. "We aren't talking about the same thing, are we?"

He smiled charmingly at her. "Does it ever hurt to breathe?"

"Sometimes."

Kurama regarded her carefully, as if she was going to collapse any moment.

"But not all the time," Botan said hastily. "Hardly. Really. And they barely hurt too. I can hardly feel it half the next. **If **I do feel it. Because, like I said, it doesn't really hurt all that much. In fact, I lied. I feel no pain whatsoever when I breathe. I'm perfectly fine at breathing. I'm a master at it." She drew in a deep breathe. "See, this is me breathing feeling nothing but air going into my airway."

He laughed at her antics. "Fine. I'll drop it."

She sighed with relief. Kurama mentally smiled for having her cheered up a little.

"Do you know what's it's like to be human?"

It came out of his mouth. He didn't know why he said it. Kurama kicked himself inside and made his face look neutral. He didn't want her to see that he wasn't expecting that question too. Plus he was worried that the question would bring up some painful memories for her.

She was confused at the question, but thought for an answer to give him. "It's been so long since I actually was a real human. I mostly just have memories of my past and some emotions that I can still feel up to today. To be human? I don't think that I know the answer. I don't think that a lot of humans know the answer to that either. In truth I don't really understand the question."

Kurama smiled as she laughed nervously. "It's fine if you don't know. It was just something that I had in my mind for a while."

"Are you having problems at home? I can't imagine you having any difficulties."

"No. Nothing of the like. Everyone is fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now, how do _you _feel?"

"Really Kurama. I thought that I explained it enough already that I'm alright."

He gave her a look.

"Hehe, I mean I will be fine."

_Does that mean…?_

"Botan?"

_Is she willing to…_

"Hm?" She looked at him. He had gotten closer to her. Very close. Her heart started to beat faster and her eyes widen.

…_move on?_

"If anything happens to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"Kurama?" She saw something in his eyes, on his face. Something very familiar. She's seen it often enough to not know what it was. Thinking back on it, how could she have missed it? It was right there in front of her all this time.

Her mouth went dry. Somehow, she knew what he was going to say next.

"I love you, Botan."


	22. Help

**Disclaimer: **If I didn't say itbefore, I do not own these characters. Or the songs.

In the manga, Koenma overthrew his father from ruling Reikai if I'm correct. If he didn't, then this story will have that detail. And please pardon my grammar errors.

"_I would rather live and love where death is king than  
__have eternal life where love is not."  
__- Robert G. Ingersoll_

**Help**

"I love you, Botan."

She still had her eyes wide open. She opened her mouth to say… anything. Well she wanted to say something. Anything would do.

"…"

The worst part about this was that she was expecting this. Even though it was only a second before he said anything, she should have been able to come up with some sort of answer or reply for him. Heck, even a rejection sounded good now, even if she didn't want to hurt him.

Instead, all that was in her mind was, _I love you, Botan I love you, Botan I love you, Botan I love you, Botan I love you, Botan I love you, Botan…_

And it wasn't Hiei's voice. The man in front of her wasn't Hiei.

Her mouth spoke with her knowing, and if she did know in advance it would be without her consent, "I love Hiei."

Kurama closed his eyes and nodded. "I know."

She was about to say something, perhaps to try and comfort him, but he continued, "I had originally intended to let you know of my feelings, and possibly take care of you from this… difficulty." Botan tried to say something again, and again he cut her off. "It's ok. Because from your answer, I realized that it's ok for me to tell you of my feelings despite your sadness to it."

A tear rolled down Botan's cheek. "But I hurt you. I'm so sorry. Maybe after some time, I could–"

"No."

"W–What?"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh. I said no."

"Kurama…"

"Shh..."

She knew that she was hurting him. _Telling_ her why was hurting him. So why couldn't he just let her stop him? She didn't want to hurt him. She already made her friends worry too much with her disappearance. And Hiei… He was hurt because of what she couldn't be. Why can't Kurama help her save himself from the pain that he's putting himself through?

What she is making him go through.

"I don't understand," she said against his finger. She couldn't stop the next tear rolling down her face.

Her big, glassy eyes weakened his resolve. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her tight. But he held himself. If anything, Kurama prided himself in holding himself back when he felt his emotions peek.

"When someone tells you that they love you, it is a good thing. It is always good to know that someone loves you. That way, no matter what, you know that you are not alone," Kurama said softly. He wiped away a tear with his thumb. "Even when you don't feel the same way, you should at least be happy that someone cares for you a great deal." He took a deep breath. "So please, at least tell me that you are ok. Even if it's just a little."

Botan could not take the emotions that swarm inside her any longer. A burst of tears fell and a short sob broke out. She grabbed Kurama and held on to him. "I'm sorry. I really wish that I could love you."

The red head placed his hand on her back and forced himself to not hug her in return. Because if he did, he was afraid that he might not be able to hold himself. "No, you don't. But thank you all the same for trying not to make me feel even worst."

Botan hiccupped.

"Do you understand now?" he asked, wiping away some of the tears that strayed away from her eyes.

She nodded. "I'm ok now."

She wiped away the rest of her tears and took several breaths. It took a while, but she managed to calm herself so that she was no longer crying and the only remains of her out burst were her red, puff eyes. Botan gave him her best smile at the moment, though it was still shaky.

Kurama curved a part of his lips upward. It wasn't that he couldn't plaster on a smile, it was that he didn't want to. He didn't want to give her something fake, not after all that has happened to her. She needed something real. Something that was true, and unbeknownst to him, it was something that would remain in her mind for next couple of hundreds of years; that slight upward curve of his lips while looking down at her with the saddest eyes that she will ever see on his face.

Kurama could have walked away from her at that moment. He knew that she would have taken it as a signal to follow and they could once again rejoin their friends. They would make up some story as to why her eyes are red and puffy and they will all laugh minutes later to some stupid joke or whatnot. He probably should have done just that. The kitsune was not at his strongest at the moment.

So when Botan move her hand to touch the corner of his upturn lip, he grabbed it, held it close and broke.

"Botan, may I kiss you?"

And once again Botan was torn.

"Please, just this once," he asked so softly that she almost didn't hear him.

And once more, Botan didn't know what to say. Should she say yes so that it could be some sort of penance for not being able to grant him happiness, or should she say no because she could not picture herself kissing anyone but Hiei?

Kurama was not thinking. He moved closer to her so that his nose barely touched hers. "Please."

At the last microsecond, before he could brush his lips with hers, Botan turned her head.

"I'm sorry, I can't."

Kurama dropped his head and chuckled. It was sad and nearly broke Botan's heart all over again. Not because she rejected him again, but because she reduced the legendary Youko Kurama to nothing but a sad (maybe broken) man.

"Kurama…"

"I'm fine, really," he swatted her raising arm. "I should have expected that. Must be losing my touch. But I couldn't help myself. I hope that you can forgive me."

Botan nodded, dazed. "Of course." Then she started to walk back to Genkai's before she did something else to hurt one of her dearest friend. When she turned back, he was still standing where she had left him. "Are you coming inside?"

He waved her off. "In a minute. I want to enjoy the cool breeze a little more."

When she finally went inside, Kurama let one tear that he had been holding to fall. He didn't want her to see him cry. It would have made his reassurance to her pointless and she would have felt even worst than before. But because he loved her so much, he could not let that happen to her.

Love did not make him do stupid things. Love made him feel things that made him do stupid things. There was a difference.

Perhaps one day he will find someone like Botan. Someone that smiled so much that it brought a smile to his own face. Someone so cheerful and happy that it was contagious. Maybe one day he will.

"Did you see which direction Botan came from?"

Kurama blinked. That sounded like Yusuke.

"No. I only saw her once she got into the house."

That was Kuwabara.

"Then what good are you, you pea brain!"

"At least I could sense where he is, unlike you!"

"If you could feel him, why don't you show me where he is then!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"I'm right here," Kurama emerged from the trees before they could start fighting.

Kuwabara and Yusuke pulled back their fists once they saw him. Yusuke dusted off his shirt from the dust. "So, you want to talk now."

Kurama stared hard at the both of them, weighing his options. "Sure, I can talk now."

* * *

Reikai was usually a very chaotic place that made Koenma wonder how any work gets done half the time. Ogres were running around to do one file and bring another file to another ogre. Ferry girls were mostly either relaxing on their time off or worrying about the soul they had recently lost.

Koenma was so glad that at least one of his ferry girls had not lost a single soul. He was just dishearten that she would not be working for quiet a while.

Being one of Botan's closest friends over the hundreds of years that he had known her, Koenma did know where she would be located once she fled back to Ningenkai. It wasn't that he stalked her or anything; the burial place of her body just happened to be in the records. Plus, many ferry girls who were once human tend to visit their own grave so it wasn't that uncommon. Especially if they were emotionally unstable.

Plus Koenma wasn't in the sharing mood when he learned that Yusuke and the others were worried about Botan. He really should have told them that she was fine.

But he didn't want any of them to disturb her while she was still mourning. If they knew that he knew where she was all along, they would hate him for it. And if he told them earlier that she was alright, they would demand to know where she was and go after her, which Botan did not need.

So Koenma opted for them not knowing anything at all. Being ruler of Reikai meant that some information must be kept secret.

"Jorge," Koenma called.

"Yes Koenma-sama?" the obedient ogre replied.

"I don't feel like doing any of this paperwork right now," Koenma pushed the large pile of papers to Jorge. "Here, why don't you do it for me?"

Jorge fell upon the heavy weight of all the papers. "But Koenma-sama!"

But Koenma had already left the room.

He walked by the numerous ferry girls and ogres. None of them caught his interest. None of them were Botan. He sighed.

Part of being ruler of Reikai meant that some information must be kept secret, like his love for Botan. One too many people already knew his secret, he didn't plan on any more knowing it. That includes Botan herself. It was bad enough that she was in love with someone else, but to be rejected as well?

No thank you.

He couldn't call himself brave because he knew that he really wasn't. He was only brave when he absolutely had to be. This did not include professing undying love to a girl.

So Koenma decided that he would do the next best thing: he'll do whatever he can to make Botan happy. Even if it's not with him. And though he cannot afford to use his own power again to save her, he knew something else that could.

Koenma opened a pair of large doors that revealed an even bigger vault. Once he turned the correct combination, he waited for the door to open itself and then waved his hand to alert the guards inside that it was him. Koenma personally made sure that that treasure vault would not be robbed so easily again. He walk passed the guards and into another room that was filled with some everyday looking books, chairs, plants, and others of the like.

Many of them were glittering spectacularly in the light, but Koenma ignored them all until he reached a circular object with a small chain. He picked it up and took special care to not look at the mirror.

"If you can't do it, I don't know what will."

* * *

"…tatoe ashita nakushite mo anata o ushinatte mo dekiru kagiri no egao de kayagakitai…" Keiko sang. In the background, Botan cheered while Yukina refilled their cups. "…namida de ima yobi kakeru yakusoku nado iranai kimi ga kureta taisetsu na tsuyosa dakara."

"…hitomi de ima yobi kakeru yakusoku nado iranai hitomi de ima te o nobasu samui yoru mo," Botan finished with Keiko.

"That was wonderful," Yukina clapped.

"Let's wait for the score," Botan stared at the screen. "Alright, Keiko got a 97!"

"Pretty good, Keiko," Genkai said. "It's my turn now." She took the microphone from Keiko and searched through the selections of songs. In the end, she picked Utada Hikaru's Final Distance._ "Ki ni naru noni kikenai, __oyogitsukarete kimi made mukuchi ni naru."_

"I wonder what's taking the guys so long," Keiko wondered as she dropped to the couch and listened to Genkai's slightly raspy voice.

"I don't know. They've been gone for over an hour already," Yukina said.

Botan tried to not look guilty or sad. She had an idea as to why they weren't back yet, but she didn't want to voice it out to her friends. It could be for a different reason entirely.

"_Aitai noni mienai nami ni osarete. Mata sukoshi tooku naru…"_

"Are ok now, Botan?" Keiko asked.

"I fine now, Keiko. Really, I am," the ferry assured her friend.

"Are you going to stay here for a while?" Keiko asked. But the way that she said it made Botan wonder if there was more to it than what she was just saying.

"I don't know. Maybe for a day or two…" Botan tailed off.

"Maybe you should go back to Reikai."

Botan's heart stopped. "Excuse me?"

Keiko quickly shook her hands. "I don't mean it in that way, it's just that… I don't want what happened to you to happen again."

"Where have you been since I last saw you at Makai?" Yukina asked.

Botan's eyes became clouded as she remembered where she had been. "I was just visiting someone that I once knew."

"_Mamorenai toki keep on trying, baby. Yakusoku doori janai kedo trust me Muri wa shinai shugi demo Kimi to nara shite mite mo ii yo."_

"But it wasn't like I've been disobeying the rules," Botan added as an afterthought.

Keiko relaxed. All the times that she wanted Botan to just visit her more often made her feel guilty. What kind of effects did she put her friend through just so she could see her and say hi? Or to just complain to about Yusuke when he was being a jerk? Again. "Good. We've really been worried about you, since, you know…"

Botan grabbed the other girl's hand. "I know. Thank you."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to ask," Yukina was picking how to phrase her words. She really didn't want to ask now, but she felt that her brother did deserve some good too, even if he did hurt Botan a whole lot.

"Hm?" Botan looked at the ice maiden.

"About Hiei…"

Botan turned her attention to Genkai's singing.

"_I wanna be with you now. Futari de distance mitsumete."_

"I know that you must be mad at him. And it must be painful to hear his name."

"_Ima nara maniau kara. We can start over. Kotoba de tsutaetai."_

"But what are you going to do now?"

"_I wanna be with you now."_

Botan had been thinking about the same thing for a long while. There were many different possibilities that she considered, but none of them really led her to any real happiness as far as she could see. She really needed to think more about what she wanted.

Even if she still did want Hiei.

"_Sono uchi ni distance mou."_

Maybe she should try and get over him.

"_Dakishimerareru you ni nareru yo."_

Or maybe she could learn to fight to win him back.

"_We should stay together."_

The possibilities were endless.

"_Yappari I need to be with you."_

"I honestly don't know," Botan answered.

* * *

Koenma was a dead man. Is a dead man. Whatever he told himself, Koenma still couldn't believe that he went to Makai without any escort whatsoever and without telling anyone. Well he did tell Jorge, but he also told the ogre to not tell anyone.

And then add to the fact that he went there unannounced.

Koenma gulped and then straightened his resolve. He was there for a reason and he would not leave until he was done. So he stood upright and went to go look for a rare demon that will be willing to help him. And that hopefully he wouldn't have to use his powers to defend himself, or else it might attract unwanted attention.

Maybe he if he could walk silently, he could find Hiei before…

"It is rude to walk into a territory without properly announcing yourself." Koenma could feel a sharp object behind his back. "Especially one who holds a high position in Reikai."

"I suppose that I just have an early death wish," Koenma said and slowly turned around. He was met with surprise. It was an elf. "What are you doing here?" Koenma shut his mouth up. It wasn't the first thing that came to his mind to say to the elf, so he was very embarrassed.

"I am Takeru," he gave a slight bow.

Koenma coughed, still embarrassed. "So, um… you work for Mukuro or Hiei."

"Both. Mostly for Hiei."

Koenma raised an eyebrow. How very unusual. "Is Hiei around?"

Takeru didn't answer right away. "I'll take you to him."

The elf turned around and led the ruler of Reikai around the trees, demons preparing to go into search parties for any humans, and into a castle with many long halls. When he finally stopped, Koenma nearly bumped into him for he was too busy staring at the ground, wondering how to say what he wanted to say to Hiei.

Takeru opened a door and pointed to room. "Hiei is right in there."

"Thank you," Koenma said and walked inside. There was no one there. Koenma became confused and looked back to Takeru. But the blond haired elf only waved back and shut the door. "What am I supposed to do in an empty room?"

"He never said that it was empty."

Koenma turned around again to find Hiei this time. "I really wish that you wouldn't do that," he grumbled.

"What do you want?" Hiei asked, leaning against the furthest wall from Koenma.

"I wanted to tell you something," was the reply.

There was no response.

Koenma didn't know what to make of that. "I think that I can help."

Hiei got up from the wall. "This doesn't concern you."

"The hell it does!" Koenma yelled. He was getting angry. "Botan is my best ferry girl and one of my closet friends. Her being sad right now is caused by you. And because she is sad, I'm going to try to make her happy. So it does concern me."

Hiei was tired of this. He was tried of the silent inquires that he got from some of the demons that he was usually grouped with on patrol, of Mukuro's sudden desire to stay near him for as long as possible, Takeru's glances to make sure that he was ok, and most of all, he was tired of yelling at himself in his own head.

He didn't need it from Koenma. He was just lucky that Kurama didn't stop by just to make him go on a guilt trip too and that Yusuke didn't just happened to be in the neighborhood too.

Most of all, he was just damn tired of everyone not understanding that he just wanted to be alone.

"Get out," Hiei ordered.

If Koenma wasn't so angry, he would have been shock with the order. Hiei didn't order HIM around. It wasn't that longer ago when Koenma was the one who gave Hiei orders either. Well, it was more of bribes than orders. "No. Not until you hear me out."

"Hn." Hiei walked out of the room. "You'll be waiting for a while."

"Hiei! Come back here!" Koenma quickly followed suit and halted. There was no one in the halls. Koenma said under his breath, "Damn it."

Koenma didn't know what made him think that Hiei would just accept his proposal. Maybe it was all the romance novels that he read when he was bored. However, Koenma still didn't think that Hiei would not talk or even acknowledge his presence for four days!

He was beginning to wonder if it was worth it.

An image of Botan on the floor crying came to his mind.

It had to be worth it. If anything, Koenma would do whatever he could afford to help her.

But that didn't mean that he had to be patient. Four days in this place was boring. No one would talk to him (not that he minded) and the one person who did was constantly busy while the other person that he desperately needed to talk to kept avoiding him. For now, Koenma was thanking his lucky stars that at least he had a place to sleep.

Elves are so nice. He should have some employed in Reikai. Why aren't there any elves working for Reikai? They're very dependable.

"Koenma-san?" Speaking of elves.

"Hai?" Koenma took his eyes off the patrol group that Hiei normally was in and that was just heading out. But he couldn't find the smallest one there.

"Hiei wants to talk with you," Takeru said.

"He's not going on patrol?" Koenma asked, surprised.

Takeru smiled, faintly embarrassed. "No. Not today."

"Ok." Once again, Koenma followed the blonde hair elf to Hiei. On the way, he tried to summon the anger that he held whenever Hiei refused to meet with him in the last four days. He had a lot pinned up inside him and he was more than willing to share his mood with Hiei.

Takeru opened a door for Koenma. Hiei was waiting for him.

Koenma glared at him. Hiei glared at him. Takeru slipped out of the room.

"Well? You summoned me here," Koenma said ruefully but still glaring, he really didn't want to be the one to start things first. "Want do you want?"

"What do you want?"

Koenma looked at him surprised. Didn't he just ask that question? "Me?"

"Why are you still here?" Hiei asked annoyed. "What do you want?"

"After four days, this is all you ask me?" Koenma wasn't going to hold back anymore. "The first day I came here, I told you that I could help you. I still could help you. But you being such a bastard, I don't know if I should. It's not like you've done anything to deserve it."

Hiei continued to glare at him. "After four days, that's all you have to tell me?"

Koenma felt like pulling at his hair. "And you're not even talking to me seriously. What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you care about anybody but yourself?"

Hiei stiffened. "You shouldn't talk about things that you know nothing about."

Koenma didn't see Hiei's hand moving to his back. So he challenged, "Don't I?"

Hiei smirked. "Oh I forgot. You have it all in that little file that you have of me. Did you catch up on your reading? What else did that file tell you? The recent tragedy that occurred or about the numerous killings I've done?"

"For a guy who claims that he doesn't want pity," Koenma sneered, "you sure don't act like it. You whine and you groan, declaring that no one can understand you. Well guess what, you're a poster boy for pity."

"At least I'm not in denial about my age," Hiei shot back.

"This is how I look in Reikai years!"

The two glared. Koenma turned into his teenage body. Once he realized that he just proved Hiei's point, he scowled. This was not how he pictured it would be to convince him that he was only trying to help.

"I'm here because I want to help." Koenma said, resigning. For Botan, he was willing to hold his anger.

"I think that I've been knocked on the head," Hiei looked at the ceiling with feign interest, as if something fell on his head. "Because you just said that you wanted to help when I didn't ask for any."

"I'm not doing this for you," Koenma snapped. "I'd much rather have Kurama in your place."

"Then why don't you go talk to him? He has feelings for her too."

"But she loves you!" Koenma heaved.

Silence.

Koenma didn't think that there could be silence during their argument. But there it was. Complete and utter silence. And Koenma couldn't stand it. But he found that he couldn't say a word. Nothing came out and his mouth was firmly held in a thin line.

The words, _But she loves you _hung in the air. It was there when Koenma found that he had no chance. He knew it when he prepared himself to go to Makai, but it never really hit until now. Now he was too busy trying to speak than to worry about his realization.

"Just let me help," he managed to say.

"Go back to Reikai."

"No!"

"I'm trying to be nice to you," Hiei leered, who was obviously trying not to lose his temper. "Now go back before I throw you out myself."

"I'd like to see you try," Koenma said, not believing him.

Hiei marched over to him, grabbed him by his shirt and was ready to throw Koenma.

"I can't believe that she still wants you!" Koenma yelled, very much still angry and half afraid of being thrown out.

"Perhaps I want her still," Hiei whispered and dropped the ruler of Reikai. Koenma could see that he was looking off to a distance. As if he was talking to himself. "I've tried to not think about her and not see her. And in the end she's the one who came back to me."

"Botan's a strong girl," Koenma commented quietly and got up.

Hiei snapped out of his transfixion and scowled.

Koenma gave up and sighed. "Fine. Do what you want."

As Koenma walked to the door, Hiei said, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going back to Reikai," was the answer.

"I meant about helping," Hiei scowled. "You can be worst than Kuwabara."

"Do you mean that you'll accept my help?" Koenma asked hopefully.

"Thought that you said that you weren't helping me?"

"I said that I wasn't doing it for you. You just happen to be the one that makes Botan happy.." Koenma pulled out the mirror from his pocket. "This is what I have in mind."

* * *

Botan walked with less joy than she normally had than she usually did. Her smile was less bright, but everyone was glad that at least she was smiling. Ogres and other ferry girls smiled brightly at her.

"Hey Jorge, is he back yet?" Botan asked the blue ogre.

"Iie, Koenma-san isn't back yet," Jorge shook his head.

"Do you know where he is?"

Jorge started to sweat. "Um… No. That is, I have no idea where he is. Maybe he's at Ningenkai?"

Botan looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

Jorge sweated even more. Fortunately, he was saved by Koenma before he could say anything.

"Jorge! I hope that most of the paperwork is done. And page Botan for me. Oh, hi Botan. Good to see that you're here. Come with me to my office," Koenma dragged his poor ferry girl into his office and shut the door. A moment later, Koenma opened it. "Jorge if you could handle these papers too, thank you."

Jorge was left in another pile of paperwork.

Inside his office, Koenma had Botan sit down.

"Koenma-san, where have you been? No one could your location out of Jorge. Were you having a secret get-away?" Botan had her cat face on.

Koenma sighed. She was ever the romantic despite her heartbreak. "No, I did not have a romance while I was away. Sorry to disappoint. But I do have a present for you."

This got Botan curiosity. It also brought her some pained memories because Hiei used to bring her presents.

"But it depends, if you want to be with Hiei," Koenma continued cautiously.

"Of course I do," Botan answer automatically, to Koenma's surprised. He thought that she would take some time to think about it. After all, Hiei did break her heart twice. "I want to be with him. I love him. Nothing is going to change that." Her eyes misted. "Even if he could refuse me a third or even a fourth time, I want to be with him. And I know that he wants to be with me too. He's just too stubborn to realize it."

"For some reason, I never really took you as a fighter," the king of Reikai mused. "Maybe Hiei is rubbing off a little too much on you."

Botan blinked. She meant what she said. She was going to fight. When she saw how Kuwabara continuously try to get Yukina's attention and to love him the way that he loved her all these years, she thought, why can't she do the same? And besides, it would be kind of funny that both twins will be persuaded to fall in love.

"Are you sure that this is what you what?" Koenma asked her.

"Yes. I really do. I love him. I would do anything for him," Botan said sincerely.

"I'll hold that to you." Koenma then showed her the same object that he showed Hiei. "And I'll give this to you to borrow."

It was a mirror. However, Botan didn't see her reflection.


	23. Fire Burning Brightly

**AN: **So sorry for the long wait. I'm even sorrier that this chapter couldn't be longer or better. I guess that I've just lost it while writing this. I know that it could be better, but I can't just find the time to properly fix it. I'll try and make this last chapter better on a later time because I really don't like how it came out. And the fact that it's the chapter kills me. Again, so sorry.

**Fire Burning Brightly**

Hiei stepped to the left so that he could avoid a skeleton that apparently been left there for some time as he made his way deeper in the forest. Hands in his pockets, his lips twitched in annoyance. How long has he waited? Two weeks? A month? Time seemed to go far too slow for him.

But yet, far too fast. He was no longer sure if he had waited enough. If he was tired of waiting.

And this was supposed to be the place, right?

Hiei cursed Koenma. The god didn't give him specific enough details on the timing of this thing because he didn't even know if this could work the way they had planned.

So Hiei just kept on walking slowly in the forest, hardly bothering to step aside for a large rock that came up to his knee. Instead he kicked it and paused to watch it shatter in all directions. He didn't know where this belligerent feeling came from. He supposed that it was from anticipation. Maybe time did go too slow for him.

_Are you listening Hiei?_

That was what Koenma had said after showing him the object that he helped steal with Kurama. He remembered hissing when he saw it. And staring and staring at it like it was going to steal his soul. Because isn't that what it does? Gets your soul?

_I said that this is what I have in mind._

The Mirror of Forlorn Hope.

He remembered what Kurama had told him months later after meeting Yusuke. He had planned to exchange his life for his mother's by using the Mirror of Forlorn Hope, but Yusuke had intervened. So no life was taken to rescue his dieing mother.

Hiei voiced his thoughts about him, or Konema, doing the same. To whatever plan he had. Fear to a growing hope inside Hiei grew when he saw the ruler of Reikai look away from, shamed faced.

_I'm doing this for a selfish reason, unlike what Yusuke did. And besides, this isn't like trying to save a life. This is changing it. Remaking it. Changing the laws that my father placed on her soul._

Hiei raised an eyebrow. Back then and in the present.

A spark appeared in the darkness of the forest. It was small, tiny. Then it began to grow. In the sky, a full moon shone down on the ever growing spark that turned out to be a fire. The moonlight seemed to be feeding the flame, so it grew and grew bigger and bigger.

_There will be an exchange. The reason why I'm not doing this with her is because, like I said, I'm doing this for a selfish reason. Therefore, it would not work with her. And the reason why I'm not asking anyone else is because I don't want anyone to know that I'm doing this. It'll be frowned on. The you know, the whole, it's for looking and not using deal._

_That and it's supposed to be dangerous._

The once small flame became a huge roaring fire that started to burn the surrounding tress in the immediate area. Other trees started to catch fire too. Hiei was surrounded by flames in seconds. It licked at his feet and clothes, but never burned. It was warm and not irritating.

_And I wouldn't ask you. _

A hard stare.

_I still don't think that you're good enough for her. And, frankly, I don't really trust you enough to do this with her._

"An exchange of one life to another," Hiei said aloud, repeating what Koenma had told him that same day. "Are you almost here yet?"

The fire burned brighter in response. The whole forest was burning. It stood out in the dark night, and Hiei did not like that. He perferred if people didn't know that he was there, only if he wanted them to know. This sence made him feel more agitated by the second. The day seemed to be against him despite it being the day that he longed for.

Craved for to happen and wished it would just happen and end already. It would cease his nerves from running all over the place and rushing right back to him. He could barely keep a calm face for the past week and his concentration had been lacking. Once the day ended, it would all be over.

Lo and behold, his waiting had paid off. In the center of the fire, a body slowly grew from the flames. First the bones, then the nervers, fat, muscle, skin, and the detail colors and shapes that made a person recongizable from another.

She was born with fire, just like he was.

The flames that surrounded the newly formed body instantly surrounded him too. Both of them were engulfed in it. It burned into his very soul and it took everything in Hiei to not scream. Deeper and deeper it burned. Then a comforting feeling passed over him. It was like a cool hand to soothe his aches and pains.

It was a look into him that he couldn't fight no matter how much he tried. A latched was placed on him. Then the fire that held them, that burned the forest down until it was nothing but dust, made a large spiral that traveled to the sky and was gone.

_She will be bound to you. You die, she dies. That's the deal. Her life as a ferry girl is forsaken and inturn, she will become a demon in your form. A life exchange. _

Watching the female slowly leisurely rise from the ashes, Hiei remembered saying that that was no big deal. How dangerous was that?

Koenma's eyes stopped him from mocking him any further.

_It's not just her life that will be bound to you, it's her soul. You go to hell, so does she. You leave her, she dies, and then she goes to hell. _

Hiei froze. Something wasn't right.

_She's trapped. She can't do anything about it. She can't even leave you if she wanted to. Even if she makes a vow to never kill or do anything evil, she goes where you go. The Mirror of Forlorn Hope cannot grant everything perfectly. _

The female in front of him couldn't be her. Her long hair was black. With the moonlight, it looked to be midnight blue. Botan has sky blue hair. He took an involuntarily step backwards. This wasn't supposed to happen.

The movement caught the unknown woman's attention. Her eyes opened and Hiei looked at her pink orbs. At the same time, a breeze brought her scent to his nose. His nose twitched at the familiar scent.

Before he could say anything, she spoke. "What happened to the fire?"

Her voice was the same, but it croak for being used for the first time. Hiei also took a good look at her. She was naked. Her hair covered her breast and there was some ash on her. He didn't mind. They could clean that off later. Everything else seemed to be fine with her. There didn't seem to be anything out of place and she didn't seem to be in any pain.

He took off his cloak and stepped toward her in one swift motion that she took a step back away from him. She was rewarded with his cloak to cover herself in.

"Hiei…"

Hiei grabbed her chin and brought her head down closer to his. He twitched again. She was still taller than him.

"Onna, you caused me a lot of trouble for the past month."

Botan grinned. And it turned to a full smile. "Ah, sorry, but you could Koenma if you want."

He smirked. "I intend to."

Then he let hr go, grabbed her hand instead, and started walking. Botan blinked. She looked at their joint hands, at him, and blinked.

"That's it?" she asked incredulously.

"That's it what?" Hiei asked, never breaking his stride.

"You mean that you aren't…." Botan trailed off. She was too disappointed to continue and too understanding of his dislike of him showing affections so freely. But the next thing that she knew, she was spun into his arms and his lips met hers.

Once he pulled away, he started to lead her again to unknown destination. All the while she was smiling.

"So," she purred. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace where we won't be disturbed for some time."

Botan blushed fiercely. She placed her free hand on her collarbone where she knew that he would soon puncture to make her his. She blushed even more. "Oh. That's sounds nice."

She bounced happily along side of him and began chatting amiably. Hiei felt a tug on his lips to slightly smile. He was happy. Sure he knew that he would soon be annoyed by her endless chatter, by for now he would savor this feeling of everything just fitting together perfectly. Like their hands just fitting together.

In a few days, he'll make amends with the kitsune and then he'll resume training with the onna. She'll need to be stronger. He knew that he can't always be there to protect her so she would need to do that for herself. And Mukuro would pose a problem if she doesn't get stronger. But that could be a worry for another time.

"Hey Hiei. Isn't that my ribbon?" Botan asked.

He looked to where her finger point and saw that her red ribbon was there. Amongst the ashes of the trees and a few pebbles. He turned his direction to pick it up. Then he picked up Botan so that she could stop chiding him about how he must have lost it awhile she was away and ran off.

Miles away in Hiei's room, a crystal creaked and broke. In its place was a baby black dragon with red eyes. It chirped hungrily while looking for its parents. The door to the room opened and Yukina stepped inside with a platter of meat.

"Don't worry little one," she gave it a small piece of meat, "they're just making up now after a fight. They'll be home in a couple of days."


End file.
